


Fallen Flames

by fantasyworld



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2013-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-24 08:24:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/632396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasyworld/pseuds/fantasyworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe that was why they always got along so well, she figured. They had been kindred spirits, and had understood each other for years... The telling of young Hotaru in her life as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I originally posted on fanfiction.net and am now migrating here.

The sun was high when the  _Moby Dick_  moored off the shore of a small island in the Grand Line. It was a Summer Island and the sun was blazing overhead as the infamous Whitebeard Pirates waited for the Log Pose to record the magnetic force of the island for them to move on. Upon entering the port town nearest them, Fourth Division Commander Thatch found that it would be two days before they could leave. That left the crew with little to do during the waiting spell.

"Oi, Marco! You going into town?" one of the chefs called after the First Division Commander. The blond man lazily looked over his shoulder and nodded an affirmative to the portly man who had called after him. "Get some fish while you're there. We need to stock up."

"You got it, Emile," Marco answered and took one of the smaller boats to the island for supplies.

Walking through the small town, Marco found it to be much like Thatch had described earlier in the morning. There was a single, wide dirt road that served as the main path through the village, with only a few narrow streets branching off to lead to the homes of the people. The main road acted as a marketplace, where the villagers and travelers could purchase goods. Vendors shouted out their wares to passersby, children ran through with happy grins, and parents called after their children to settle them down.

"You're not from around here," a child said as Marco looked through the selection of fish for Emile.

He glanced down at the child to see she was only a small girl. Her body looked thin, as though she wasn't fed well, and she wore clothes that looked like little more than rags. Her pants, reaching halfway down her calves, sported tears in the knees and her thin red shirt looked as though it was nearly two sizes too large for her. The black hair on her head reached the middle of her back. Her skin was lightly tanned, and dirt was smeared on her face. Behind the dirt and hair falling in front of her face, Marco saw a pair of green eyes that held depth beyond the child's years.

"No, I'm not," Marco answered, turning his eyes back towards the fish.

"You're a pirate, aren't you?" Marco glanced at the little girl again and knelt to look into her eyes.

"What gives you that idea?"

"I'm right, aren't I? Nobody would be so calm about being called a pirate unless he  _was_  a pirate. And you wear the same symbol as that weird guy who was here this morning." Marco gave a soft chuckle at the child's description of Thatch before standing again.

"You're right. I'm a pirate, but you don't have to worry about anyone being attacked."

"I know that. I've been reading about you in the papers. You're from the Whitebeard Pirates. There hasn't been a single town that the Whitebeard Pirates have attacked."

"Why don't you head home? I'm sure your parents are looking for you."

"Tch. I doubt it," the girl muttered, turning to leave. As she walked off, Marco noted the child walked on bare feet, while the other children ran with at least sandals.

"Poor girl," the fish merchant murmured after the child had left. Marco turned his attention to the man with a curious stare. "Mum don't feed 'er much. We merchants around town give 'er what we can spare, but it ain't much." Marco almost asked why the girl wasn't fed by her mother, but figured it was none of his business. Instead, he simply nodded sympathetically.

"Must be hell," he muttered.

"Aye, it is. But what can I get for ya?"

"Ten of your largest fish."

"Ten?"

"I've got a lot of men that need feeding for some time."

"Aye, I follow ya. Ten of my largest fish, coming right up." The exchange of food for money was made and Marco began walking down the main road once more. As he walked, he heard the padding of footsteps behind him. Marco turned to see the child from before following him, a content smile on her lips.

"Do you need something?" he asked, regretting it a second later as he thought of what the merchant had said. There he was, standing with ten fish larger than he was over his shoulders, asking a clearly-starving child if she needed anything.

"I want to come with you," the girl answered simply as she stood to stand beside Marco.

"I'm only buying a few spices."

"I don't mind."

"You don't know me."

"And you don't know me, so we're even." The cheeky grin on her face elicited a chuckle from Marco.

"Alright, you can walk with me, kid."

"My name's not 'kid'. It's Hotaru."

"I'm Marco." He hoisted the fish to better stay on his shoulders as he and Hotaru continued to walk down the main road together. They stopped at a couple stands for Marco to purchase the spices requested by the cooks and the Second Division Commander, Anne.

"I'm kinda surprised you know what this stuff is," Hotaru commented as she reached for the bag of Dragon's Flush—a very strong spice native to that island—that Marco had purchased. The First Division Commander took the bag from her hands and hung it with the others on his arm. "Hey!"

"A friend told me about the spices," Marco answered simply.

"Why won't you let me carry anything?"

"Because it all needs to go back to the ship with me."

"I'm not gonna steal it from you. I've got better things to do than steal food from a pirate, least of all some measly spices."

"Then why are you following me?"

"Because I want to," Hotaru answered earnestly. The question of 'why' came to Marco's mind again, but he left it unasked. They neared the boat he'd taken into the town and he dropped the supplies into it.

"You should head home, or go play with some friends," Marco said as he untied the rope from the knot.

"I can't come with you?"

"No."

"Well, why not?"

"Because you're only a child."

"Am not!"

"How old are you?"

"I'm ten, but that doesn't mean-"

"You're too young."

"Will you come back later today? Or tomorrow?" Hotaru asked hopefully, surprising Marco. Why was this girl so adamant on being around him? She knew he was a pirate, maybe even knew he was a very dangerous man. Of course, he would never harm her, but she certainly wouldn't know that.

"We'll see."

"Can I  _please_  see your ship just once? Just for a couple hours."

"You want to go onto a pirate ship? Why?"

"I want to see what it's like."

"Most kids would be afraid. It's dangerous."

"I'm not like most kids.  _Please_ , Marco."

Those bright green eyes stared up at him, pleading for him to answer her request, through her messy bangs. Marco sighed heavily at the child's face—an expression used by many children when attempting to bargain with their parents—and wrapped an arm around Hotaru, hoisting her onto the boat. Her grin and wide eyes made him give a small smile as he began on his way back to the  _Moby Dick_  with Hotaru and the supplies he'd bought.


	2. Chapter 2

"I told you to get fish, not a kid," Emile said when he saw Hotaru come up with Marco, the fish and the spices. Hotaru stared up at the cook with awe clearly etched on her features. Marco figured it was fitting, considering Emile was larger than most men; not quite as large as Jozu, but fairly close.

"I didn't think you would be subject to  _the face_ ," a woman added with a chuckle. She was nearly Marco's height with fairly tanned skin and wavy blond hair that was held into a ponytail. The woman knelt before Hotaru with a gentle smile and stuck out her hand in greeting. Hotaru stared at the scars that covered her palm with wide eyes. "My name's Anne. And you are?"

"Hotaru," the child answered, gingerly shaking hands with the woman. The scars on Anne's hands were even more pronounced than they looked and Hotaru wondered how she had gotten them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hotaru." Anne stood and looked Marco in the eyes. "Did you get my Dragon's Flush?"

"Right here," Marco answered and held up the bag that contained the spice. Anne took it from his hand and inspected the spices.

"Great. This should last us a good, long while. Emile, just remember that this stuff has a lot of kick to it, so don't use a lot. What we have here should last us at least a year, and that's taking into account the big eaters we have." Anne nudged Emile with a teasing smile.

"So, what'd you bring the girl here for?" Jozu asked. Hotaru jumped upon hearing his voice and gripped the edge of Marco's shirt in her fist.

"Didn't you hear me, Jozu? Marco fell for  _the face_ ," Anne answered, sticking her tongue out at the First Division Commander. Marco frowned and rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion.

"Don't put words in my mouth," he said.

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"I think so," Hotaru answered with a grin and Marco glanced pointedly at her. She released the fabric of his shirt as Anne, Emile and Jozu chuckled.

"What's so funny?" another man asked as he approached the group. Hotaru recognized him as the man she'd seen earlier, with his orange hair in a weird style, a black beard and wearing only white clothes with a yellow ascot. He had a scar next to his left eye and Whitebeard's mark tattooed into the side of his neck. His eyes widened with intrigue as his gaze met Hotaru's. "Oh, and who's this lovely young lady?"

"Her name's Hotaru," Anne answered. "Marco found her in town."

"I saw you this morning," Hotaru added. "Unagi Jii-san kicked you out of his restaurant for harassing the waitresses."

"You never mentioned  _that_  one, Thatch," Marco commented with an accusing stare at the Fourth Division Commander, who merely scratched the back of his neck.

"About that… I didn't think it was worth mentioning," he answered with a slightly nervous chuckle.

"You didn't do anything that would piss off Oyaji, did you?" Anne asked.

"Of course not. What do you take me for, a kid?"

"Dunno. I'm still convinced you're a child in a man's body."

Thatch huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, causing Anne to chuckle in response. She looked to Hotaru again, finding that the girl had grabbed onto Marco's shirt again as though it were an instinctive reaction. Anne smiled fondly and nudged Thatch's side as he started to make a comment.

"Who's Oyaji?" Hotaru asked.

"He's our captain, Edward Newgate, or Whitebeard," Thatch answered.

"Why do you call him that?"

"Because he calls us his sons," Marco supplied, looking down at the girl again.

"And daughters," Anne added with a wink.

"He does?" Hotaru asked, though her voice sounded more like a dreamy whisper. Marco raised an eyebrow at her, about to ask what had gotten into her. He stopped himself when he saw an odd little smile creeping into her features. "So, your crew is like your family?"

"For the most part," Thatch answered.

"Can I join?" All the adults stared at the ten-year-old girl with shocked expressions. Why the hell would this child want to join a pirate crew so suddenly? She was only a kid, and had her whole life ahead of her. The last thing she needed was to become an outlaw.

"You're a little young," Anne said carefully, trying not to upset the child.

"That's what Marco said when I wanted to come onto your ship, but he still brought me."

"That's because Marco is a sucker for cute little kids," Thatch answered, earning a punch in the shoulder from the First Division Commander.

"But why can't I join?"

"Oyaji's never been big on young people throwing away their lives. How old are you?"

"Ten," Marco answered for her.

"That's too young to know what you want," Jozu continued sternly.

"I know what I want!" Hotaru yelled with a pout. "I want to become a pirate and I want to join your crew!"

"But that might not be what you want ten years from now, or even three."

"You don't know that."

"And neither do you."

"But that doesn't make any sense! Why won't you let me join if neither of us knows if it's what I will want years from now? It's what I want now."

"But you're only ten," Thatch answered, earning an angry pout from the girl. She said nothing else, because she didn't know how else to try to convince them to let her join their crew. Hotaru mumbled something quietly, her fist tightening around the part of Marco's shirt she still held.

"What was that?" Anne asked.

"Can you at least show me around?" the child requested, sounding almost pitiful. Thatch gave her a grin and offered his hand to her.

"I don't see why not," he said, earning a wide smile from Hotaru. "But you have to stay with one of us at all times."

"Okay!"


	3. Chapter 3

Hotaru walked behind Marco and Anne as they led her through a few of the more open areas of  _Moby Dick_. As they walked, the two adults explained the functions of a few of spaces while the little girl stared in wonder of it all. On more than one occasion, Marco and Anne had heard her murmur something about the size of the ship.

"How many people are in your crew?" Hotaru asked at one point. Anne tapped her lower lip as she tried to estimate a number.

"Over a hundred, I think, but Oyaji has a lot of allies as well," the blond woman answered.

"Are they all your family?"

"Pretty much. We all look out for each other."

"Sound nice."

"What does?" Marco asked.

"You have a family."

Marco and Anne glanced at each other before looking back down at the child following them. She still wore a smile on her face, though her eyes carried a hint longing in them. Just what had she gone through? Marco knew what that fish merchant had said about the child's mother, but little else. He considered asking, but figured it was Hotaru's business, not his.

"Is something bothering you?" Anne asked carefully. Hotaru shook her head and let her smile grow into a grin.

"Nope. Hey, what's this door to?" she asked, pointing to the door on her left.

"This entire hallway is for the sleeping quarters of the Division Commanders. That room is the one Marco and I share."

"Can I see?"

Marco gave a shrug to Anne's questioning glance and opened the door to their sleeping quarters. Inside the door, the room appeared to be relatively clean with only a few bottles scattered across the floor. The bed was merely a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, all strewn about the area a bit haphazardly. Nothing adorned the walls of the room, but Hotaru could see a few piles of books near the far corner. Marco lit a couple lamps and light came to the room, allowing for Hotaru to see a little better. She looked back to the bed and giggled softly.

"What's so funny?" Anne asked.

"The pillows make the bed look kinda like a nest," the child answered, earning a laugh from the blond woman.

Marco glared harshly at Anne, who merely ignored his stare. The First Division Commander could only thank any higher power that Thatch wasn't around to hear what the girl had said. The bastard would've never let him live it down. The Fourth Division Commander seemed to have convinced himself that Marco had taken on avian-like tendencies from eating his Devil Fruit, and it had quickly spread like wildfire to become a joke among the Whitebeard Pirates.

"You know, it kind of  _does_." As Anne continued to snicker behind her hand, Hotaru looked up at Marco with a curious expression.

"What's wrong, Marco Nii-chan?" This earned the girl a surprised expression from both adults, effectively ending Anne's laughter.

"Oi, you hardly know me. What's with the 'Nii-chan' stuff?" Marco asked, kneeling down to look into Hotaru's eyes.

"Sorry," she murmured and glanced away. Anne frowned slightly with a heavy sigh. She took Hotaru's hand and led her to the bed, sitting beside her and earning a curious glance from Marco.

"Hotaru, can you tell me about your home?" Anne asked gently. The little girl shook her head and tried to pull her hand away from the older woman. Anne kept her grip on Hotaru firm enough, but didn't hurt the child. Hotaru only pulled harder, fear making itself known in her eyes. She didn't like being held down and Anne's grip on her hand frightened her.

"L-Let go! I won't say it again, I promise!" Marco and Anne exchanged a concerned glance as the woman loosened her hold on Hotaru's hand. The girl recoiled as though she'd been bitten and backed herself into the wall behind her.

"Why are you afraid all of a sudden?" Marco asked. He found Hotaru's behavior to be odd, considering she'd begged for him to bring her aboard the ship only that morning.

"I'm not afraid!" Hotaru yelled, but her stance betrayed her. She looked as though she would run if any advancement was made on her.

"We're not going to hurt you," Anne said.

"I know that."

"Then why did you run away from me?"

"I… I just don't like people grabbing me, okay?"

"Why is that?"

"Because you can't let anyone get a hold of you when you're running away with stuff."

"I thought the merchants gave you what they could spare," Marco commented as he leaned against the wall of his quarters.

"The old fisherman told you that, didn't he? If I relied on just that, then I would've died a few years ago."

"So you have to steal from other people."

"Only so I can keep going. It's not like Ranka does anything for me," Hotaru muttered.

"Who?" Anne asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"It's your mother, isn't it?" Marco asked, remembering what the fisherman had told him.

"I don't think of her as that." A sympathetic expression crossed Anne's face as she looked at the little girl. A low rumbling echoed in the silence and Anne found it in herself to give a little laugh as Hotaru wrapped her arms around her stomach sheepishly.

"Let's go to the galley and get you something to eat," she suggested and extended a hand to Hotaru, who eyed her carefully before taking the offer.

Anne and Marco had expected the girl with them to eat a lot, but they hadn't expected her to do so until she made herself sick. They figured it must have been because she didn't often have enough food to fill herself, so she didn't have the same control most people would. It was sad, really, that this child was in such poor conditions.

"Sorry," Hotaru murmured as she sunk onto the deck of the  _Moby Dick_  after being sick again.

"Don't apologize," Marco answered as he ruffled the child's hair. She pulled her head away with a weak smile and yawned.

"It's getting late," Anne commented. "You want us to bring you home?"

"No. I'm okay," Hotaru whispered with another yawn. The sun had since set and the shifts were changing among the crew members. Marco was to be in the crow's-nest for the next few hours and he ruffled the hair on Hotaru's sleepy head. She was already out, soft snores coming from her mouth.

"Think we can let her stay the night?"

"Check with Oyaji, and take her to our room," Marco answered before transforming into the phoenix and flying up the mast of the ship. Anne smiled up at him and carefully lifted Hotaru off the deck.


	4. Chapter 4

Hotaru awoke in the morning to the feeling of soft pillows beneath her and a light blanket draped over her small frame. She slowly opened her eyes to see the form of a muscular blond man lying on the opposite side of the makeshift bed, his back to her. Hotaru gave the body a confused look and slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. When had she fallen asleep? And why had she been sleeping in Marco and Anne's quarters? Where was Anne?

The ten-year-old girl pushed the blanket off of her body and stood, stretching silently so as not to awaken Marco. Her bare feet padded across the wooden floor as she exited the room without a sound. Walking down the hall, Hotaru quickly found herself on the deck of the  _Moby Dick_  with some of the older men of the crew working around her.

"I see the firefly is up," a male voice said and Hotaru whirled around to see the cook from the day before, Emile. "Anne said you fell asleep on the deck last night."

"What time is it?" Hotaru asked.

"A few hours after dawn. You hungry?"

"A little."

"Then let's get down to the galley. Just try not to make yourself sick again," Emile answered with a laugh, bringing an embarrassed blush to Hotaru's cheeks. Once in the galley with the cook, Hotaru sat at one of the long tables while a plate of eggs and a slab of meat was placed in front of her.

"The little lady is awake," Thatch called as he took a seat across from the girl while she ate. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Hotaru answered with a smile. "Where's Anne?"

"Anne takes look-out duty every morning after Marco's shift ends. She's probably finishing up now."

"Does she have other jobs?"

"A few, but she'll probably sleep before taking care of them. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering. Marco's asleep too."

"I don't doubt it," Thatch answered. There was silence between the two as Hotaru finished her meal, looking very pleased. Thatch chuckled lightly at her expression. "You look like that's the best food you've ever eaten."

"It is," Hotaru answered simply, causing Thatch's grin to disappear.

"You have it pretty rough, don't you?"

Hotaru shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"Sorry to hear that, kid."

"My name's not 'kid'. It's Hotaru."

"My apologies, Hotaru," Thatch answered with a chuckle. He figured Hotaru must have had people calling her 'kid' often in her town, and she wanted to show the pirates that she had an identity. He could admire that about her. "So, what makes you want to join the Whitebeard Pirates? Why not wait until you're older to leave home?"

"You're all like a family. I never had one. And I don't want to wait to leave because I don't like living where I do."

"Why not?"

"Have you seen me?" Hotaru asked. Thatch admitted to himself that the poor girl looked like she wasn't living in good conditions. Her clothes were old and ratty, almost as though they were the only ones she owned, and her eating habits were enough proof that she was generally underfed. "I'd be better off here."

"Won't your parents be worried about you?"

"What parents?"

Thatch pretended not to notice the bitterness in the voice of the ten-year-old girl sitting across from him. He did the same with the concerned glance given by Emile. The last thing they needed to do was become overly attached to Hotaru when it was very likely they'd never see her again. Still, Thatch thought, he wished he could've done something for the child. Moments later, Marco entered the galley with an expression that told the others he'd just woken up.

"Anne sleeping?" Thatch asked as the First Division Commander sat beside Hotaru, ruffling her hair again. The girl pouted mockingly and pushed his hand away. Marco nodded to answer Thatch's question before looking down at Hotaru.

"How long have you been up?" he asked.

"Not long. Emile and Thatch have been keeping me company," Hotaru answered with a smile.

"That idiot's not corrupting you, is he?" The girl beside him giggled, shaking her head, while Thatch yelled out an indignant 'Oi'.

"We were just talking about why I want to join your crew." Marco threw a glance at the Fourth Division Commander, who held up his hands as a sign of peace.

"Just making conversation," he defended.

"Hotaru, how about you come into the kitchen with me and you can help me start on lunch for the crew," Emile offered, sensing that Marco wanted a word with Thatch without Hotaru around. Of course, whenever Marco wanted 'a word' with someone, it was usually bad news for the person on the receiving end.

"You're starting lunch already?" Hotaru asked curiously.

"We have a big crew. Want to help?"

"Sure!" The girl answered and slid off the bench to follow Emile into the kitchen, leaving Marco and Thatch alone. Once they were gone, Marco gave the other commander a heavy stare.

"You know she can't," he said.

"I didn't say she should. I asked why she wanted to. The kid's an orphan," Thatch answered.

"She has a mother."

"Not according to her. She obviously starves half the time. She wants a family, and she'd be willing to take a criminal one over nothing."

"You know it's not our decision."

"No, but we can bring it up to Oyaji. Damn, Marco, I thought you'd be thrilled with this."

"What are you-"

"The whole crew knows you and Anne want a kid," Thatch answered. "You're already treating Hotaru like your own." Marco's jaw tightened as the Fourth Division Commander held his stare.

"I'm taking her home today," he answered sternly and stood from the table.

"The best home you'll bring her is this ship!"

Marco ignored Thatch's final comment as he entered the kitchen, where he found Hotaru standing on a small ladder as she helped Emile put vegetables into a large pot. There was a large grin on her face and she looked proud of herself to be helping the cooks. She seemed to speak easiest to Emile, but the other three currently in the kitchen seemed to be getting along well with her already.

"Hotaru, I'm heading into town," Marco said, earning the attention of everyone in the room. A slight frown crossed Emile's lips, while a wide grin came across Hotaru's.

"Can I come?" she asked hopefully.

"I figured you'd want to. Come on."

Hotaru followed Marco out of the kitchen and towards the small boat he would be taking into town again. It would be his last trip, he thought as they rode the waves to the dock nearest them. Hotaru's smile never faltered and Marco could feel a wry smile form on his lips. Walking through the marketplace, he felt a tug at his heart every time he looked at the little girl beside him.

"What do you need to get today?" Hotaru asked at one point.

"Hotaru, I'm not getting anything," he answered seriously, earning a wide-eyed expression from the child. "You need to go home."

"What? But… I thought… I mean, why can't I come with you?"

"You're too young to be on a ship full of pirates. Besides, your mother-"

"Don't say she'd be worried about me. She doesn't care. She hasn't seen me in weeks." Marco's eyebrows shot upwards at this news.

"You haven't been home in weeks?" he asked.

"I don't have a home. I thought you figured that out already. Ranka hasn't taken care of me in years. I was always dumped off on someone else."

"Hotaru?" a woman's voice yelled and Marco looked up to see a woman in her late twenties, maybe early thirties. Her hair was long, brown and held into a low ponytail at the base of her skull. She was dressed relatively casually, but far better than Hotaru. Her green eyes held resentment and Marco could already feel Hotaru's hand clutching the fabric of his shirt again.

"What do you want, Ranka?" the girl asked, though Marco could tell she was actually frightened of the woman staring her down. She seemed to be inching ever closer to Marco as she held the harsh stare of her mother.

"What the  _hell_  are you doing?"

"Are you this girl's mother?" Marco asked, hoping to divert the wrath of this woman away from her daughter. She scowled at him.

"Yeah, what of it?" she asked harshly. Marco found it surprising she didn't try to put on a nice act for him. Most people who would treat their children badly would behave like model parents in public. "What're you doing with my kid?"

"Taking me away from you!" Hotaru yelled, earning another angry glare from her mother.

"You actually want her? She's useless." Marco looked down at Hotaru, taking in how strongly she held herself in the face of the woman she obviously feared. The girl was brave, strong. A survivor. He frowned at the woman's claim of this child being worthless.

"Hotaru, we're going back to the ship. I'm going to talk with Oyaji about you joining our crew," Marco said, his hard gaze never leaving Ranka's eyes. He was daring her to speak against him. The woman backed away slightly under his stare, but sneered anyway.

"Take her," Ranka said and turned away, leaving her daughter in Marco's care. The First Division Commander turned his eyes to the child beside him, his gaze softening considerably, and she grinned up at him hopefully.

"You really mean it?" she asked. "I can come with you?"

"If Oyaji approves."

Days later, the _Moby Dick_  was far away from Hotaru's home island and heading for the next one on the Log Pose. Hotaru had been permitted to join Whitebeard's Crew, after the captain had heard of the situation with her mother and previous lifestyle. She now lived among the crew, slept in the women's quarters and worked in the kitchen with Emile and the other cooks. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere, like she had a family.

"Hotaru!" Anne called from the upper level of the deck and Hotaru turned away from the sea to grin up at her.

"Coming, Nee-chan!" the girl yelled as she ran towards the woman.


	5. Chapter 5

In Hotaru's first year aboard the  _Moby Dick_ , she became the adoptive daughter of Marco and Anne. As such, she was expected to abide by all the rules of the ship and perform her duties in the kitchen as instructed by Emile, her teacher. She found her new life among pirates to be exactly what she'd always longed for. She had a family, even beyond her surrogate parents, and felt like she was constantly on a grand adventure.

"Zehahahaha! The firefly is getting better!" a member of the Second Division, Marshall D. Teach, exclaimed as he bit into the pie Hotaru had had a hand in baking.

"You think so, Teach?" the girl asked with a grin.

"Your best yet."

"Hotaru, come up here," Anne called from the top of the stairs leading into the galley. The child ran after her, wiping the flour from her hands onto her apron, and took Anne's hand as they walked onto the deck together.

"What's up, Nee-chan?" Hotaru asked.

"Marco's coming back from the reconnaissance mission Oyaji sent him on. I thought you'd want to see him in."

"Of course!"

Anne chuckled at the eleven-year-old and ruffled her hair. The black locks that had once reached the middle of the girl's back were now cut very short, to the point where many outside of the crew mistook her for a young lad. Since becoming part of Whitebeard's growing family, Hotaru had been given new clothing to replace the tattered rags she'd worn when Marco had found her.

"Here he comes," Anne said with a knowing smile, which brought a slightly confused expression to Hotaru's face. There wasn't any sign of the First Division Commander yet, so how did Anne know he was close? Hotaru figured it seemed like the older woman had eyes in the back of her head sometimes. She couldn't get away with anything when Anne was around!

Moments later, a large, blue, flaming bird came into view in the distance. It was quickly approaching the ship and Hotaru grinned at the sight. It hadn't been the first time she'd seen Marco in the form of the phoenix, but that didn't make it any less exciting for her. As Marco made his descent to the deck, many of the other crewmates stepped back to avoid the flames. The thought didn't pass through Hotaru's mind as she ran forward with her arms outstretched to the man still engulfed in blue fire.

"Hotaru!" one of the men yelled in panic, only to stare in awe when the blaze dissipated to reveal the child unharmed with her arms wrapped around the torso of the First Division Commander. Marco and Anne were also at a loss for words as they each stared down at the Hotaru. Marco wrapped an arm around the girl and picked her up effortlessly, checking for any burns on her skin. There were none.

"At your age, shouldn't you know to back away from flames?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Hotaru grinned at him.

"I didn't get burned, Nii-chan," she answered as though it were such a simple concept. "Now, put me down." The last sentence was said with a giggle. Marco set the girl back onto the deck and gave Anne a questioning glance. The woman could only shrug.

"Maybe it's haki," she suggested. "I'd be willing to bet it's Busōshoku Haki."

"What's that?"

"I'll tell you after I report to Oyaji," Marco answered, ruffling the girl's hair, and walked off to speak with the captain. Hotaru, never wanting to be left in the dark, turned to Anne expectantly.

"Nee-chan, what's haki?"

"Come on, I'll try to explain it," Anne answered and took Hotaru's hand, leading her to her sleeping quarters. Once they sat on the nest-like bed—though Marco firmly denied any such resemblance—Hotaru crossed her legs with eager eyes fixed on her mother-figure.

"So," she prompted with a smile.

"You know how Oyaji can make his enemies faint just by looking at them?" Hotaru nodded. "That's a form of haki. That's called the Color of the Conqueror's King. Very few people are able to use this type of haki. Other than that, there are two other types that are more common. There's the Kenbunshoku Haki, which is my strong point."

"What's that do?"

"It allows me to know the position of a target, even if they're out of my sight. I can also see the number people around me and their next immediate move," Anne answered.

"So, that's how you know everything I'm doing!" Hotaru exclaimed, earning a chuckle from the blond woman. "What's the other kind?"

"It's called the Busōshoku Haki, and it's the type most of our nakama use. It's Marco's strong point, and it seems like you can use it too. Marco will probably begin training you to use the Busōshoku Haki. I'm going to see how your Kenbunshoku Haki is, so we can figure out what your strong point is."

The door to the room opened and Hotaru whirled around to see Marco enter. She grinned widely at him and jumped up to hug him again. He gave her the kind of fatherly smiled that was reserved for her and returned the embrace. Anne stood and gave the First Division Commander a kiss on the cheek and a smile.

"What were you two talking about?" Marco asked.

"Nee-chan says you're going to teach me to use my haki!" Hotaru exclaimed excitedly. To know she was that much more like the people she cared the most about was something that thrilled her. It made her feel like she belonged in Whitebeard's Crew even more. She was determined to make them proud.


	6. Chapter 6

Hotaru looked over the list Emile had written out, adding a couple of ingredients of her own to it. The  _Moby Dick_  had just landed on another island and the crew needed to stock up on supplies again before heading out. Hotaru grabbed the list off the counter in the kitchen and began walking to the smaller boats to go into town. She was stopped when a hand snatched the list out of her hands.

"Hotaru, where are you going?" Marco asked lazily, as if he already knew the answer.

"I'm getting supplies, Nii-san," she answered. As she'd grown older, Hotaru had begun dropping the childish 'chan' from those she spoke to, opting for a more mature way of speaking.

"You're twelve. You can't go by yourself."

"I'm old enough to pick up some supplies from a small town. What're you so worried about?"

"You're still a kid."

"But I'm a pirate. Thatch is right; you  _are_  like a mother hen." Marco frowned slightly, making a mental note to have a word with the Fourth Division Commander later. Hotaru stuck out her tongue and grabbed the list from Marco's hand. "I'll be back in no time. Don't worry so much."

With that, she ran off to take one of the smaller boats into town. The water near the docks was calm and Hotaru found it easy to cross them, compared to the sea around some of the other islands she'd been to. Hotaru loved the ocean, and she knew the dangers of it well. Having spent the past two years aboard a ship with men and women possessing the abilities of Devil Fruits, it had become mandatory that she become aware of nature's power. Even Oyaji, the strongest man alive, could not tame the sea. Of course, Oyaji never needed to tame the sea, Hotaru thought fleetingly. There was no one on land or sea that could defeat him, and he had only ever wanted to be strong enough to take care of his family.

Once Hotaru came to the docks on the outskirts of town, she tied the boat down—just as Jozu and Vista had taught her—and began walking into town. As she searched the marketplace, she found only a few of the spices she was looking for at first glance. She purchased the ones she could find, letting the bags hang off her elbows. Hotaru figured she wouldn't be able to carry any of the larger items on the list and frowned as the thought dawned on her. Perhaps she  _should_  have asked Marco or Thatch to go with her, so there wouldn't need to be multiple trips. She looked down at the list again, only to bump into someone and fall over.

"Sorry about that," she said quickly as she picked herself off the ground.

Hotaru bent down to pick up the bags that fell, but was stopped when a meaty hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. Fear struck her like lightning, bringing back memories of the life she lived before Oyaji had taken her into his family. She looked up at the man with wide eyes, quickly taking in his features. He was tall, but not as tall as Marco, and looked like he had a bit more fat that muscle on his bones. A scraggly brown beard covered his chin and his matching hair was messier than Hotaru's had been before becoming a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Watch where you're going, brat," he growled. Hotaru pulled back, but his grip on her shoulder remained firm. A dull pain ached where his fingertips dug into her skin.

"I- I didn't see you. I'm sorry."

Her voice wavered and she hated the sound of it. The last thing she needed to do was show weakness and fear to this man. She was a member of the Whitebeard Pirates! She needed to be brave! Instead, all she could do was fight back the fearful tears that stung her eyes and wish Marco was with her. No one would bother her if he were there.

"Do you know who I am? I'm the strongest fighter on this island, Accalon!"

"You wouldn't hit a little kid, would you?" Hotaru asked.

The answer she received was the back of Accalon's hand meeting her cheek, sending her flying into the outer wall of the nearest building. Hotaru could hear a collective gasp from passersby, but none ran to her aid. In fact, many looked as fearful as she felt. Her eyes squeezed shut as her body slid down the wall to the ground.

"You were saying, boy?" Accalon asked with a taunting laugh. Hotaru didn't understand. Why was he attacking her? She'd just bumped into him accidentally. It wasn't as though she'd done him any harm. His hand grabbed her short hair, pulling her head up to look into his eyes. Hotaru trembled under his intense stare, tears spilling over her cheeks.

"L-Let me go!" Hotaru's was shaken and her head snapped against the wall. Her vision went dark for a moment before she completely lost consciousness.

When Hotaru opened her eyes again, her head was pounding painfully behind her eyes and it took her a moment to take in her surroundings. Once she did, she realized she was in the room shared by Marco and Anne, lying on the bed with a blanket draped over her body. Upon placing a hand on her forehead, she found a damp cloth beneath her fingertips and figured Anne or Marco must have put it there. Hotaru's mind was then brought to the events before she lost consciousness and tears came to her eyes.

"You alright?" Marco asked from where he was seated nearby. Hotaru quickly sat up and threw herself into his chest, sobbing heavily as Marco rubbed her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, Nii-chan!" she cried.

"What're you apologizing for?" Marco ruffled the child's hair, careful not to touch the rather large bump on the back of her head, as he waited for her sobs to subside. He'd wait for another time before he told her he'd gone into town after her and beaten the man who'd attacked her. In the next few days, he figured, he would begin teaching Hotaru how to fight with a weapon. The last thing Marco wanted was for the girl to be unable to use her haki and have this happen again.


	7. Chapter 7

The thirteen-year-old girl stared incredulously at the orange-haired man sitting across from her with a solemn face. They were in the women's quarters, Thatch seated on top of the trunk full of Haruta's personal items while Hotaru sat in her hammock with her legs dangling over the side. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like hours to Hotaru, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She quickly brushed them away, unwilling to shed a tear yet. What Thatch had said… it couldn't be true, could it?

"No," Hotaru murmured shakily, squeezing her eyes shut. Perhaps this was just a bad dream and she'd wake up soon.

"Hotaru," Thatch began carefully, "I know this is hard for you to believe."

"Of course it is! You can't just come in here and tell me… tell me that!" The news had been of Anne, the first woman Hotaru had become close to, the woman she saw as her mother. She loved Anne more than she loved her own mother.

Thatch had come to Hotaru that evening, his white clothes stained with splattered blood. At first sight of him, Hotaru had been worried that  _he_  had been hurt in a battle. He'd quickly alleviated that fear, only to raise another. Thatch told the girl, now blossoming into a young woman, that while he had taken little damage, the Second Division Commander had not been so fortunate. Anne, as he had said, was killed in battle with the Marines.

"I'm sorry you have to hear it like this," Thatch said gently. He hated being the bearer of bad news, especially to Hotaru. She was his little sister, or niece, depending on how one could look at the odd familial situations. Unfortunately, he knew the mental and emotional condition Marco was in at the moment. Having lost his lover of eight years, the First Division Commander wasn't the best choice to give the news of Anne's passing.

"I don't believe you, Thatch! How can you say something like that about Anne?" Hotaru was screaming by this point, her mind going into hysterics. Anne couldn't possibly be dead, she mentally cried. It just wasn't possible. "Where's Anne?"

"I told you, Hotaru."

" _No!_ " The tears began flowing over her cheeks and Thatch wondered if she'd actually accepted that Anne had passed, even though she verbally denied it. Was she trying to convince herself, or him? Hotaru rubbed the tears from her face, though more continued to fall. Thatch stood and rested a hand on her shoulder. "How did she die?"

"You don't want to know that, Hotaru. It's best if you don't," Thatch answered. He was surprised by how well she was taking this. He'd expected her to fall to pieces once she accepted what had happened.

"Why didn't Marco come and tell me?" she asked. Thatch sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. He'd hoped she wouldn't ask.

"He's, uh, he's not in the right state of mind right now. He's grieving."

Hotaru nodded slowly and slid off her hammock, earning a concerned look from Thatch. After a few slow steps on shaky legs, the girl ran out of the women's quarters. She ignored the other crew members she bumped into, and they all stared after her with dismal expressions in their eyes. They all knew where she was going and who she was seeking out. Hotaru stumbled over her feet as she brushed past the older men and women on the ship. Without Anne, it already seemed so empty aboard the  _Moby Dick_.

The pounding of her feet beneath her was the only thing that seemed real for the moment. She turned a corner, then another, until coming to an all-too familiar door. The old wood stared ominously down at her as she shakily raised her fist. She knocked twice, wishing with all her heart that Anne would be the one to open the door. Instead, she heard something mumbled on the other side, sounding like it came from Marco. Hotaru slowly turned the handle and the door creaked open, granting her entry.

As she carefully stepped into the room, she saw the man she had so long called her older brother, though he really filled the role of the father she never had. He was seated on the ground, leaning against the farthest wall in his quarters, the room almost completely engulfed in darkness, but for a single lamp that was lit near the door. Hotaru could see the reflection of light off the bottle of rum in his hand, and she could swear there were tearstains on his face. But… Marco never cried.

Hotaru's footsteps were agonizingly slow as she crossed the room, making her way to the First Division Commander. In seeing him in the state he was in, Hotaru knew there was nothing left to ask. It didn't matter  _how_  Anne had been killed, or even who had done it. What mattered was the fact that she was gone, really and truly gone. As that thought finally struck the child with its full strength, she crumpled to the ground in front of Marco. Her head fell forward to rest on his chest while her body curled into itself and she let her sobs come.

Marco's arm—the one that wasn't holding the bottle of rum—wrapped around Hotaru and he held her tightly, almost painfully so. She didn't complain; she needed the reassurance that he wasn't going anywhere, just as he needed to know she wasn't leaving. Hotaru gripped the fabric of Marco's shirt tightly, as she had done since she was ten years old. She fleetingly noticed that he smelled of rum and freshly-dug earth. She sobbed heavily, letting all of her sorrow and grief make itself known in the confines of the room that had belonged to her parents, in the arms of the man she saw as her father. The tears showed no signs of stopping by the time she finally drifted into a restless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A low chuckle came from the head nurse as she looked at Hotaru. Along with being the woman in charge of all the nurses that took care of Oyaji, Elle was the best tattoo-artist of the Whitebeard Pirates. She was rubbing Hotaru's right shoulder with a disinfectant, preparing to give the young woman the mark of their captain.

"It's about time you got this done," Elle said, her laugh underlying in her voice.

"Hey, if it were up to me, it would've had it done six years ago," Hotaru answered.

"And that's why I wouldn't let you. A ten-year-old wouldn't need to be running around with a tattoo on her arm," Marco answered lazily, leaning against the wall across from Hotaru. She smiled at him and turned her attention back to Elle.

"So, what color does the firefly want for her tattoo?" the red-haired woman asked as she searched through her drawer full of supplies.

Hotaru looked away for a moment in thought. That was something she still hadn't decided on. She had known she wanted the silhouette of Whitebeard's Jolly Roger, like what Marco had, but she didn't know a color. Did she want red, like Anne had sported on her left collarbone? Or did she want blue, as Marco wore proudly across his chest and abdomen? Or was the neutral black a better choice for her?

The sixteen-year-old quickly decided black wasn't the color she wanted. It wouldn't mean anything to her if she used it. Red or blue? She associated both with someone she cared for deeply. One was her late mother, who had been taken from her life only three years prior. The other was her father, who had brought her into the life she loved and raised her as his own for the past six years. With a soft smile, Hotaru made her decision.

"Purple," she answered. Marco smirked and leaned forward to ruffle Hotaru's hair, only to have her pull back at the last moment. "Not this time, Marco. You've gotta work for it now."

"Oi! I raised you."

"So did most of this crew."

"Not more than me or Anne." Hotaru gave him a soft smile. While the pain of Anne's death was still present in both of them, it became a little easier to deal with each day. It was better for them to think of the positives of Anne's life with them, rather than the negatives that came with her death.

"Why purple?" Elle asked as she prepared the needle for the tattoo she was about to mark into Hotaru's skin.

"Red and blue. Anne and Marco. By making mine purple, it's for both of them," the teen answered simply, earning a smile from her tattoo artist.

"Good choice. This might pinch, so try to hold still." A whirring sound came from the device in Elle's hand and Hotaru couldn't stop the flinch that rippled down her arm when the needle made contact with her arm.

A few hours and gauze pads later, the tattoo was completed and covered to allow Hotaru's skin to heal. Elle had quickly glazed over the basic care of the new mark until it was fully healed, and then told Hotaru to simply ask one of the other crew members if she had any questions. With a quick mention to come to her if there was a serious problem, Elle left the room to make sure Oyaji wasn't drinking heavily again.

"How's it feel?" Marco asked once the nurse had left.

"Sore," Hotaru answered, tapping her fingers irritably on the bench she was sitting on. "And kinda weird, like an itch I can't scratch." Marco laughed and leaned back against the wall again.

"See why I didn't let you get it when you were ten?"

"I wouldn't have been able to sit still for that." The two of them laughed together and Hotaru gingerly tested the movement of her arm. "It feels good to have it, though."

"Good. I'm proud of you. Anne would be, too."

"I'm proud to be wearing Oyaji's mark," Hotaru answered with a grin.


	9. Chapter 9

Hotaru stared down at the newest member of Whitebeard's crew with a curious expression on her features. The new kid was only eighteen, if the newspapers were anything to go on. Granted, she was only a year older than him, but she'd spent nearly half her life as a pirate as opposed to his single year at sea. He was very muscular and wore a bright yellow shirt that was left unbuttoned, even after the nurses wrapped him up in enough bandages and gauze to make him look like a mummy. The lad also had the most hideous orange cowboy hat Hotaru had ever seen in her life—not that she spent her time looking for ugly hats—and she wondered if he was colorblind.

He had made quite a name for himself in his year at sea, though. The newspapers called him the Fire Fist, thanks to a Logia Devil Fruit ability. That was one thing Hotaru had never had an interest in having: a Devil Fruit. As much as she'd been surrounded by the miraculous abilities of the ones she called family, she never saw a reason for her to have such power. Besides, there always needed to be someone to fish out those who may have accidentally fallen into the sea.

Fire Fist Ace, as the newspapers had been calling him, had to be left in the bed with a single seastone cuff around one wrist to keep him from setting the room alight. It was a funny thought, Hotaru figured after a moment, that this boy had been brought in after fighting Jinbei for five days just for a shot at Oyaji. She could only wonder what kind of trouble he'd get himself into upon waking. With a light chuckle, Hotaru picked up Ace's ugly hat from where it hung on the headboard and gave it a good look. It was just a simple orange hat, though Hotaru thought the little smilies were an interesting addition. One grinning maniacally, the other frowning like the mask of a tragedy.

Hotaru wondered which one the Fire Fist followed. Was he the mischievous one that grinned like he was ready to cause trouble at the drop off that orange hat? Or was he a tragedy-filled individual who'd seen far too much death and destruction for his age? Or was he some combination of the two? Marco would  _love_  that, she thought with a chuckle. Hotaru rested Fire Fist's hat back on the headboard and gently brushed his black hair off his forehead, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Welcome aboard, Fire Fist Ace," she murmured and left the infirmary.

"There you are!" Thatch called and Hotaru turned to see him approaching with his usual grin. "Where were you, Firefly?"

"Checking on the new guy. Elle was busy keeping Oyaji out of the sake, so she asked me to make sure he wasn't bleeding."

"You hear how the kid got all beat up?"

"He fought Jinbei for five days straight, right? Nearly killed the both of them."

"And then he wanted to fight Oyaji," Thatch answered, laughing as though the thought were ridiculous. "He passed out before he answered Oyaji's offer of joining us."

"Wonder what he'll be like when he wakes up."

"Dunno, but you and Marco will probably have your hands full." Hotaru sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Hopefully he won't be too much of a handful, then."

"You mean like you were?"

"Hey, I wasn't that bad," she retorted, sticking out her tongue at the Fourth Division Commander.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen, thank you very much."

"And six years ago, you scared Marco half to death, getting beat up by some bastard in a town because you went off by yourself."

"Is that what you meant by me being a handful?"

"That's a piece of it," Thatch answered with a chuckle. "Where you headed off to now?"

"Down to the kitchen. Emile and I are going to get started on dinner soon."

"What's on the menu?"

"It's a surprise," Hotaru answered with a wink and cavorted off to the kitchen.

That evening, the galley was filled with not only the members of the Whitebeard Crew, but the Spade Pirates who had previously been under the control of Fire Fist Ace. The Spades seemed apprehensive, Hotaru noted as she served the meal. They probably figured she was going to poison them or something. Or they were worried about their still unconscious captain. She gave one of the younger men a grin as she poured a bowl of stew for him.

"What?" he asked, a nervous tone lacing his voice. Hotaru almost laughed, remembering how Teach used to tell her that if you smile around an anxious man, he'll become a nervous wreck.

"Fire Fist will be fine. Our nurses are taking good care of him," she answered.

"How can we trust you?"

"We haven't killed you yet, have we?"

Wide eyes stared back at her and the man quickly scurried off, leaving Hotaru to wonder if she'd said anything wrong. She'd meant her words to come out as comforting. The Whitebeard Pirates could have easily killed all of the Spades without much effort, but they didn't. That meant Oyaji liked Fire Fist and his crew, so they were nakama now. You don't kill nakama, as a law. Hotaru figured everyone knew that, so what reason was there for the ex-Spade to look so frightened of her? With a shrug of her shoulders, Hotaru continued serving stew to the other members of the crew with her usual smile.

After everyone else had been fed, she and the cooks took their own food and joined the others in the galley. Hotaru sat beside Marco and across from Thatch, like she always did. Jozu was sitting across from Marco, and Vista was on Thatch's other side. It was how the five of them had always sat. There was an empty place beside Hotaru, where Anne had always been when she was younger. She decided not to dwell on her late mother as she began eating her meal.

"Did you use Dragon's Flush in this?" Thatch asked, earning a grin from Hotaru.

"Of course. I grew up on an island full of this stuff, so I put it on everything I ate when I was a kid."

"You say it like you've aged thirty years since you joined the crew."

"Well, I've always been mature for my age, Thatch," Hotaru retorted before taking another bite from her food.

"What do you think the Fire Fist will do when he wakes?" Vista asked offhandedly, like one would ask about the weather for the coming day. For all his tone gave away, he might as well have asked what had gone into the stew—which Hotaru would never have told; trade secret.

Marco shrugged. "He'll probably cause trouble," he answered in the same cavalier tone.

"I'm just glad he's wearing seastone right now," Hotaru added. "His body was still in fight-mode when he passed out, according to Elle, and it burned anything, or anyone not using haki. Last thing we need is for the infirmary to go up in smoke." This earned a thunderous chortle from Thatch, and a few low chuckles from the other three commanders around her.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Fire Fist had finally awoken and, after ranting and raving about how he was going to murder the captain for dragging him on "this God-forsaken ship", resigned to sulking away from the rest of the crew. Hotaru had spotted him when bringing up unusable scraps from the kitchen to toss over the side of the ship. Ace had been sitting on the deck, his back against the hull of the ship and his knees pulled up to his chest. Hotaru almost laughed at the sight of him acting so childish. She approached him, carrying the large wok of scraps, with a friendly smile on her lips.

"It's too good a day to be sitting here by yourself," she said as she tossed the waste overboard, careful not to let any of the pieces hit Ace as she hauled them over the railing. She received no answer from the moody teen beside her and a slight frown came to her features. "Why don't you go talk with some of the crew members, or at least your ex-Spades?"

"My  _what_?" he asked vehemently, his voice barely more than an angry hiss.

"You're all part of this crew now. You're all nakama."

" _Don't_  say that." Hotaru quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Relax. It's not the end of the world. There are worse things than joining Oyaji's crew."

"Just leave me the hell alone," Ace muttered, earning a shrug from the young woman who stood beside him with the wok resting on her hip.

"Do whatever you want. Just try not to cause us too much trouble," she said with a wink. "My name's Hotaru, by the way." When Ace gave her no acknowledgement or indication he would respond, Hotaru walked back down to the kitchen to return the wok.

"You're done until dinner, Firefly. Go have some fun," Emile told her with a smile and the hearty laugh he always gave. Hotaru didn't need to be told twice and she quickly ran through the galley and up to the deck, where she nearly ran into Thatch.

"Whoa, Hotaru. Where's the fire?" he asked and she gave his arm a playful punch.

"So long as Ace doesn't get in any fouler a mood, there shouldn't be one… unless Marco gets pissed," she answered with a chuckle.

"I see you've tried talking to the newest addition to our crew."

" _Tried_  being the keyword. Did you try too?"

"Yeah, and he asked me why we didn't put him in shackles," Thatch answered, earning a highly perplexed look from Hotaru.

"Why would we do that?"

"That's what  _I_  said!" Hotaru was about to say something when she noticed Ace in the background—now standing—suddenly fall over the side of the ship. Her eyes widened at the sight and Thatch turned to follow her gaze, only seeing the empty deck. "Hotaru?"

"Oh, hell!" she yelled and ran across the deck, her feet pounding against the wooden boards beneath her.

Thatch called after her, but she completely ignored him. All she could think of was the new member of her nakama taking a nose-dive into the ocean,  _with a Devil Fruit ability_. Was the kid suicidal? Hotaru leapt over the side of the ship and dove into the ocean to retrieve the Fire Fist. The instant she hit the freezing water, the current began pushing against her. Her eyes stung from the salty sea water as she searched for the Devil Fruit user who had fallen in.

It wasn't long before her gaze feel upon a pair of black boots and the moody pirate they belonged to. Hotaru could see air bubbles drifting from Ace's nose and she quickly swam deeper to catch him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thanked Thatch for teaching her how to swim like a champ when she was younger. Her lungs began to burn as she wrapped an arm around Ace's torso and put one of his arms over her shoulders.

She propelled the both of them to the surface as quickly as she could, hoping Ace hadn't taken on too much water in his plummet. He'd been unresponsive thus far, which puzzled her somewhere in the back of her mind—where the thought of  _get the hell out of the water_  wasn't reigning supreme. As they emerged from the water, Hotaru released gasping breaths while trying to keep Ace's head above the water.

"Don't die, kid," she muttered under her breath.

"Hotaru!" Marco yelled from aboard the ship. Judging by his tone, Hotaru figured he was either mad or worried about her… or some combination of the two.

"Throw down some rope!"

A long, thick rope was tossed down from the deck. Hotaru swam to it, struggling to keep Ace from slipping from her grasp—thank goodness Marco had trained her in the Busōshoku Haki. She tied the rope around herself and Ace and tugged twice. They were slowly lifted up the hull of the  _Moby Dick_. Finally, Thatch, Emile and Marco pulled them over the railing and Hotaru quickly turned Ace onto his back, their waists still tied together by the rope.

He hadn't stirred through the whole ordeal and she was afraid he was on the verge of drowning. She placed a hand on his chest, ready to push the water out of his lungs, and allowed the other hand to hover over his mouth to feel for a breath. Before she could figure out if he was still breathing, Ace started coughing and turned to the side to rid himself of the water in his lungs. Hotaru grabbed his shoulder to keep him from moving too far.

"Don't move yet," Marco warned him. "You nearly drowned."

"What are you talking about?" Ace asked, shrugging Hotaru's hand away.

"You fell overboard, kid. I just pulled you out," she answered, untying the rope that held them both together.

"Don't call me kid." Hotaru held up her hands in a peace-keeping manner. She smirked at him, though, happy to hear his statement. It meant he wanted to be known by his name, that he had an identity that he refused to be known as otherwise. It was just like she had been upon meeting the crew members, and she admired him for it. After a moment, Ace murmured a "thanks" for dragging him out of the water, to which Hotaru gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Don't worry about it, Ace."


	11. Chapter 11

"How many times has he tried now?" Vista asked as he watched Ace fly across the deck, thanks to a punch from Oyaji.

"This is the fifth time this week, so he's up to fifteen attempts in two weeks," Thatch answered. "We're all taking bets on how long it'll be before he either gives up or gets himself killed. Want in?"

"I'll give him two months before he gives up," Hotaru said, taking the clipboard Thatch had procured seemingly from nowhere.

She quickly wrote her name down on the chart, underneath Izou's wager that Ace would last a month and a half. Somewhere near the top of the paper, Jozu had placed his bets on the Fire Fist going for six months. Hotaru could only hope that wasn't going to be the case. She was getting a little tired of Ace trying to kill their captain, after only two weeks of his attempts.

The evening before, Ace had tried to kill Oyaji in his sleep with a knife, effectively getting himself thrown out of the room and waking half the people on the ship. Hotaru had been the first to approach him, a scowl on her lips, and inform him that while  _he_ didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn,  _she_  did. She had then taken the knife from Ace and flicked it so that it landed with the blade firmly planted into the wooden boards of the deck, telling Ace that he didn't stand a chance against Oyaji with something so simple.

Noontime had brought an assassination attempt that had something to do with 'death from above'. Needless to say, it didn't work and Ace soon found himself not only flying across the deck, but crashing through the railing. The yelp of surprise was expected as the Fire Fist quickly found himself plummeting into the ocean.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Vista asked Hotaru, while Thatch was already on his way to fish the flame user out of the water.

"Nope. I refuse to pull his stupid ass out of the water after an attempt on Oyaji's life. I'll fish him out after he falls overboard on his own, which I'm still trying to figure out."

"Figure out what?" a somewhat lazy voice asked from behind Hotaru and she turned to see Marco approaching, yawning. She figured he had just woken up, seeing as he hadn't been working the previous shift and he'd had look-out duty late at night.

"Why Ace keeps falling overboard. He'll be standing up, perfectly fine one moment. And in the next, he'll just fall over the rail. It's weird."

"It's his own business." Hotaru shrugged her shoulders, watching as Thatch returned with a very angry Ace. Hotaru could've sworn the flame user was pouting, but knew he'd deny it, just like any other member of the crew. Grown men didn't pout, as Hotaru had learned very quickly upon joining. Marco watched Hotaru for a moment, taking notice of the slight frown on her lips. He knew she didn't realize she wore that frown, but it meant she was still bothered by the topic at hand. "Oi. If it really bugs you, ask him."

Hotaru scoffed. "You say it like he'll actually talk to me, or anyone besides his ex-Spades for that matter."

"You're persuasive. You take after your mother." The nineteen-year-old gave him a smile before walking off to see what she help she could offer in the kitchen.

Sometime later, Hotaru found Ace sulking on the deck, against the hull again. She was very tempted to laugh at the sight, but figured it would be best not to insult the moody pirate. As she approached him, he didn't seem to acknowledge her existence. It was only when Hotaru sat beside him that he glanced in her direction.

"What do you want?" he muttered. Hotaru pulled one knee up to her chest and rested her arm on it, twisting her upper body so she was angled towards Ace.

"I want to talk," she answered with a friendly smile. When Ace didn't react, Hotaru decided small-talk likely wasn't going to go far with him. "Why do you keep falling overboard?" This earned a response from Ace. His head whipped in her direction and she noted that his eyes were slightly widened. He seemed to recover quickly, though, and a scowl adorned his features.

"Your damn captain keeps throwing me over."

"Watch what you say about Oyaji," Hotaru warned. "And I was talking about the times  _I_  have to fish you out of the sea. I'm sure you've noticed I don't dive in after you if it's after you try to kill Oyaji."

"You've only pulled me out once."

"Try ten times in two weeks, almost as many times as Thatch has had to go. So, why do you keep falling over?"

"It's none of your business," Ace snapped moodily. Hotaru watched him in silence for a moment, trying to figure him out. When helped, he was always sure to be polite, but he was temperamental all other times of the day. Hotaru know Ace was in an irritable mood, but she also knew Marco had been correct in saying she could be persuasive.

"If you tell me why you keep falling overboard, I'll tell you something that even most members of the crew don't know." This seemed to intrigue Ace for a moment. He glanced at Hotaru, as though trying to measure if she was telling the truth. "Come on; are you just clumsy or something?"

"No."

"Then what is it?" Hotaru asked. "You can trust me."

"How do I know that?"

"We're nakama."

"Don't say that," Ace growled, his wall of defenses reinforcing itself.

"Alright, fine. How about this? You can trust me because I care about you and I don't want you to drown."

At that, Hotaru watched that wall of defense weaken again. It was ever-so slight, but she could definitely see the surprise on the young man's features. It was as though he hadn't expected anyone in the Whitebeard Crew to care about him. Hotaru thought that was ridiculous, of course, because if they didn't care, they wouldn't have bothered to keep him alive or fish him out of the sea.

"You mean that?" Ace asked, his tone sounding a bit skeptical. Behind that skepticism, Hotaru could almost swear she heard a hint of apprehension. She gave him her bright smile again.

"Why wouldn't I? So, why do you keep taking a nose-dive into the ocean?" Ace was silent, watching Hotaru carefully. It seemed as though he was still unsure if he could trust her. Hotaru figured it was a case of 'you go first'. She gave a sigh, not particularly  _wanting_  to tell Ace about the little fear she had. After all, there was only one member of the crew that knew about it, and she was reluctant to spread it. "If I tell you, then you  _have_  to tell me why you keep falling overboard."

"Fine."

"Alright. I hate being alone in the dark." Ace raised an eyebrow at her before snickering behind his hand.

"You're afraid of  _the dark_?" he asked incredulously, earning a punch to the shoulder.

"Shut up! And it's not the dark I'm afraid of. I just don't like being alone in the dark. I want to be able to see what's going on. Quit laughing!"

"I'm sorry, but what kind of pirate is afraid of-"

"Don't say it. Enough making fun of me. What's with you and dropping off the side of the ship?" Hotaru asked and Ace's laughter quickly stopped. He hesitated for a moment, leaning back against the hull of the ship.

"I fall asleep," he muttered, almost as though he was embarrassed. Hotaru raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"You… fall asleep? Just like that?" She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. "How?"

"Narcolepsy." Hotaru's brows furrowed slightly in confusion. What was narcolepsy? She'd never heard of it before.

"What?"

"It's why I fall asleep at the drop of a hat," Ace answered, still mumbling. Hotaru stared at him in silence for a moment before reaching behind Ace's head. She lifted the ugly orange hat from off his person and released it, watching it fall to the wooden boards of the deck. Once it had landed, she looked back to Ace with a smile.

"You're still awake," she offered lightly, earning a chuckle from Ace.

"So, why do you 'hate the dark'?" he asked and Hotaru smirked. She wondered if he realized he was entitled to an elaboration, as she had asked for one.

"I grew up on the streets, so I always had to watch my back. I don't like feeling completely alone because then I feel like I have to constantly look over my shoulder. It's just worse in the dark because I can't see." Ace nodded slowly as if he understood the sentiment, but said nothing more. He simply picked up his hat and let it hang off his neck, so the skull medallion was in front of his chest. Hotaru figured the conversation wouldn't be going and stood, dusting off her khaki Capri pants. "It was nice talking with you, Ace. I hope we can do it again sometime."


	12. Chapter 12

Months had passed and Ace's attempts on Whitebeard's life were beginning to grow less frequent, which relieved the other crew members. Not only were the assassination efforts tiresome, but no one  _really_  wanted Ace to die if he kept it up. In fact, it seemed as though the Fire Fist was becoming more open to the idea that, just maybe, he could belong as a member of the crew. The others already considered him nakama, but he had to accept it in order for him to believe it.

In that time, Hotaru had learned much about Ace, usually through a trade-off. She had learned of Ace's younger brother, Luffy, but she had first had to forfeit information on her first pet—a cat that she had found when she was eleven that Marco and Anne had allowed her to keep until it passed away three years after. Hotaru had told Ace a little about the town she grew up in—but not her biological mother—in return for information on Ace's hometown in the Windmill Village. Those conversations had been exchanged between the two, allowing them to come to understand each other.

One evening, Hotaru had spotted Marco talking to Ace after dinner had been served and she was free to go up on the deck. From the way Marco was crouched in front of the younger man, Hotaru knew it was a private conversation that she had no right to walk in on. She found herself watching from afar, taking in Ace's physical reactions to what Marco was telling him. The Fire Fist was sitting as he usually did while sulking, but his head was down and his face hidden. For a moment, Hotaru could swear she saw he shoulders shaking and she wondered if he was crying, or holding back tears.

"Something wrong, Hotaru?" Jozu asked, startling the young woman and snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him and shook her head slowly.

"Nothing," she murmured, glancing back at Marco and Ace. "Just thinking, is all."

Only days later, Ace had decided to embrace his place as a Whitebeard Pirate, taking the captain as his father and wearing the Jolly Roger proudly on his back. Hotaru had been surprised when she'd first seen the purple ink that spread across the young man's back, made to look exactly like the tattoo Oyaji wore on his back.

As it turned out, Marco had won from the pool and took all the money that had been wagered on Ace.

It wasn't long before Ace had started taking on more duties around the ship, primarily helping in the kitchen. Of course, that was only on the condition that he  _didn't_  eat everything in sight. Emile kept everything locked up, just in case, and Ace only worked in the kitchen to help clean. He'd been working with Hotaru one day when she found herself staring at the tattoo on his back again.

"What're you staring at?" he asked teasingly. Hotaru had noticed that the young man had become more outgoing and fun-loving since embracing the life of a member of Whitebeard's Crew. She figured it may have just been his nature finally able to come out from behind all that sulking.

"Your tattoo," she answered simply with a smile. "Why'd you choose purple?"

Ace shrugged, only to flinch from the still-tender muscles. "Just because. Why do you ask?"

"Because I had a reason behind my color choice."

"What was that?" Hotaru smirked, knowing she could use their little game again.

"First, you have to tell me something else about when you were a kid."

"What does  _that_  have to do with anything?"

"Because my reason has to do with someone from my childhood, and it's only fair I learn about someone who was important to you when you were a kid. And you can't tell me about Luffy or Sabo." Ace sighed heavily and Hotaru watched as a wry smile made itself known on his lips.

"I had a little sister, too," he answered, earning a quirked eyebrow from Hotaru.

"You just had siblings left and right, didn't you?"

"She wasn't my actual sister, but it was close enough. Her name was Lily. She wasn't very strong, but she was a tough girl."

"How'd you meet her?" Hotaru asked.

"I was eleven, and I saw her staring at me after I beat up some guys in town for pissing me off. When I asked her what she was looking at, she just introduced herself. Ten minutes later, she tried to tackle me to the ground, just to show she wasn't afraid of me." As Ace spoke, Hotaru could hear an almost longing tone in his voice, like he missed the girl he spoke of. She must have been around his age, and Hotaru wondered how long it had been since the siblings had seen each other.

"Sounds like you took to her pretty quickly."

"Somewhat," Ace answered with a chuckle. "Lily impressed me more than once, just through her sheer willpower. See, she had heart problems that she was born with, and that's why she wasn't physically strong."

"How long has it been since you saw her?"

"Four years. She died the day after her thirteenth birthday." Hotaru gasped softly, wishing she had held her tongue on the matter. Ace had previously told her about his brother, Sabo, and his untimely end when they were ten. To hear that Ace had lost another sibling so soon after, it was truly heartbreaking. Ace's voice was softer as he began to speak again. "Every year after her death, before I left home, I would tie a piece of purple twine on the tree above her grave. Purple was her favorite color."

"Is that why you chose purple ink for your tattoo?" Hotaru asked. Ace did his shrug-cringe combo again.

"So, who was the important one in your life?"

"Her name was Anne, and she was the Second Division Commander when I was taken into the crew. She and Marco were my parents, for all intents and purposes."

"Is that why you're always hanging around him?"

"He was the first person to really see my worth. Granted, he was the first one I actually met, but still… they practically adopted me. She died when I was thirteen, killed by a bastard Marine. When I was sixteen, I got my tattoo and Elle asked me what color ink I wanted. I wanted something that meant something to me."

"So you chose the same thing Anne had, right?"

"No. Anne's tattoo was red. And Marco's is blue. The two of them had been the most important people in my life, along with Oyaji. By using purple, it was my way to thank, and honor, them." Ace nodded, a serious expression on his features.

"Sounds like a good plan," he said with a slight smile, completely understanding the importance Hotaru's adoptive parents to her. He had the same feelings towards his siblings. Hotaru grinned as Ace turned back around, giving her a view of his tattoo again. As she looked at her captain's Jolly Roger on his back, she remembered what Anne had done soon after Hotaru had joined the crew.

" _Hotaru!" Anne called from the upper level of the deck and Hotaru turned away from the sea to grin up at her._

" _Coming, Nee-chan!" the girl yelled as she ran towards the woman. Once the child had reached her, Anne knelt to the girl's level and kissed her forehead._

" _Welcome to the Whitebeard Crew."_

Hotaru could remember Anne performing the same gesture on other new members that had joined in the three years prior to her death. The black-haired woman approached Ace and stood on the step-stool that was behind him. She tapped on his shoulder, causing the young man to turn around, and pressed her lips to his forehead.

"Welcome to the Whitebeard Crew, Portgas D. Ace."


	13. Chapter 13

"Hotaru, you ready yet?" Marco called into the women's quarters as the young woman finished stuffing a few items into the burlap backpack she carried. Hotaru threw the bag over one shoulder as she ran onto the deck, where Marco was waiting.

"Almost. I'll just be a minute," she answered breathlessly and ran to the galley. Marco stared after her for a moment, shaking his head with a faint smile. When Hotaru made it into the kitchen, she swiped a couple loaves of bread, meat and water. She wrapped them up as quickly as she could and set the packages in a separate bag from the one hanging off her shoulder.

"What's the hurry?" Ace asked as he watched her, startling Hotaru. She'd been so focused on hurrying to meet Marco that she hadn't noticed Ace's presence in the kitchen.

"You better not be trying to swipe some food. Emile will kick your ass for that," she said teasingly. "But I'm leaving with Marco today. He's taking me out for some recon. The lookout spotted some islands in the distance and Oyaji wants us to check them out."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Only a week."

" _Only_?" Ace repeated, as though a week were a great span of time.

"Oh, relax. I'm sure you can manage a week without me having to fish you out of the water. Thatch can take over while I'm gone," Hotaru answered with a chuckle. "I'll see you when I get back. Try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone."

With that, Hotaru ran back up onto the deck, Ace and a few other members of the crew following to see her and the First Division Commander off. Hotaru ran to the port side and leapt over the railing of the ship, where Marco had already transformed into the phoenix and was waiting for her. The young woman was using her Busōshoku Haki to keep from being burned as she held onto what would be Marco's shoulders.

"Be careful, Hotaru!" Thatch called as he waved the two off. Hotaru grinned and waved back as Marco began flying off.

Hotaru had always loved the feeling of flying, as she'd discovered soon after learning to control her haki. She could still remember her first flight with Marco, when he'd brought her high enough that she could see for leagues upon leagues. It had thrilled her beyond compare to be in the sky with Marco, soaring above the world. The wind in her face was exhilarating and, during her first flight, Hotaru had whooped in excitement. In fact, she still felt the urge to.

When the two finally landed on the first of the two islands, they found it to be filled with overgrown vegetation. The question was whether anything was edible, Hotaru figured as she looked around at the dense jungle they were in. Well, that and if there were any people on this island. Marco and Hotaru set up camp near the edge of the forest, where they could see the beach through the vegetation and explored a bit of the area around them. There seemed to be nobody inhabiting the island, which was rather rare for islands on the Grand Line. Typically, one could always find people hiding  _somewhere_  on an island, even if they were in an underground city. Hotaru could still remember how terrified she'd been when, at age ten, she'd gone onto an island with Anne and someone had grabbed her ankle from under the earth.

"It's getting dark," Marco noted, looking up at the setting sky. It was hard to tell through the trees, but Hotaru knew Marco had a better sense of time than her. It seemed like he was a walking clock at times. Once the pair returned to the area they had cleared for the night, Hotaru dropped her bags onto the ground beside the fallen log she sat on.

"It's kind of weird, not seeing anyone here," she murmured. "It reminds me of that island full of tunnel-dwellers." Marco chuckled, likely remembering how Hotaru had clung to him and Anne for the rest of the day after meeting the inhabitants of that island.

"Let's hope nothing reaches out to grab your leg again," he retorted, causing Hotaru to stick her tongue out at him. Marco ruffled her hair affectionately and sat beside her on the fallen log. There was a moment of comfortable silence between them before Marco spoke again. "You've been spending a lot of time around Fire Fist, eh."

Hotaru shrugged. "Sure. Why do you bring it up?"

"You haven't gotten close to anyone new since Anne died." Hotaru eyes widened slightly, realizing he was right. But, what did that have to do with anything?

"Ace knows who Anne was to me, if that's what you're getting at."

"Oi, no need to get defensive. I'm happy you're branching out. It's better than seeing you detached." Hotaru stared at her father-figure in confusion.

"Detached? What are you talking about? I've always welcome new members to the crew. Granted, they were a little easier to talk to than Ace was in the beginning, but that doesn't mean I didn't go near them."

"But you never approached them like you did Ace. I don't blame you for it. Hell, Anne was one of the first people you were close to in your life. It's natural that you didn't want to get that close to someone else again."

"Marco, please don't play head-doctor on me. I hang out with Ace more because he's fun to be around. There's nothing behind it."

Hotaru struggled to understand why Marco brought up that topic for a conversation. Sure, she'd spent a lot of time with Ace, but that wasn't anything special. It was simply because they understood each other. She had shared so much about herself with him, in return for learning more about his life. They still played their little exchange game from time to time, usually to pass the time while working. Was it any wonder she spent so much time with the Fire Fist?

"I'm not saying there is. I'm just making an observation," Marco answered diplomatically.

Hotaru knew Marco never stated his 'observations' unless there was something else on his mind. He'd already mentioned his thoughts about Hotaru's relationship issues after Anne's death, but she wondered if there was anything else on his mind. With a shrug, Hotaru pushed the thought aside and began making a fire for the evening.


	14. Chapter 14

Two weeks later, Marco and Hotaru returned to the  _Moby Dick_  no worse for wear. They went together to report to the captain what they'd found, which was more than a little surprising to any of the others listening in on the conversation.

"You were attacked?" Whitebeard asked, a slightly puzzled tone in his voice. It wasn't unusual for pirates to be disliked on the islands they came to, but most knew better than to deal with Whitebeard and his crew. The tattoos on Marco and Hotaru  _should_  have alerted the locals on the second island to who they were.

"Turns out they don't get any form of news from the outside world. In fact, those islands are generally overlooked on the Grand Line," Hotaru explained.

"The Log Pose doesn't point to the islands, and they're only visible on the clearest of days," Marco elaborated. "They have no knowledge of the outside world. They thought Hotaru and I were demons come to take their women and children."

"You know, because we look  _so_  menacing when we're trying to sleep." Marco glanced at the young woman as a warning that sarcasm wasn't a good tone to use when delivering a report. This had only been her second time on recon with Marco, as training so she would soon be able to go on her own if need be.

"Did they have any resources?" Whitebeard asked.

"One island is completely covered in vegetation. It's where they grow all their fruits and keep their animals," Marco answered. "The other island is covered with rocky terrain, and that's where they build their homes and shops. Once a week, they send people to gather food and other supplies. But there's nothing else on the islands."

"How are the kitchen stores?"

"Last I knew, we had more than enough food to last us until we get to another island. Unless Emile has mentioned anything, I think we're set without having to get food from them," Hotaru answered. "Besides, I'm not too sure they'd be happy to see Marco and me again. They were pretty freaked out when Marco transformed."

Edward Newgate nodded his head and dismissed the two standing before him. While Marco returned to his quarters, Hotaru made a beeline for the washroom. She felt like she was in desperate need of a shower, after playing guerrilla warfare with the natives for three days straight. She planned to take a long nap after getting clean.

"You were gone an extra week," a very familiar voice said disapprovingly as Hotaru passed the doorway that led to the galley. She sighed heavily and turned to face Ace.

"So I was wrong. We couldn't plan on the locals attacking us," Hotaru answered, leaning against the nearest wall. She was exhausted and couldn't wait to find her way back into her hammock.

"They attacked you?"

"If you were a commander, you would've heard when we were reporting to Oyaji… or you could've eavesdropped like a few others." Hotaru had vaguely sensed a few more people than there were commanders when she and Marco had been talking to Whitebeard, but Kenbunshoku Haki wasn't her strong point, so she couldn't tell much about those listening in. "We were attacked by the locals because they thought we were going to steal their women and children. They thought we were demons."

"Why?"

"I don't know. The day before we were supposed to leave, they jumped us in the middle of the night while we were sleeping and slapped seastone cuffs on both of us. They probably put them on me as a precaution, since I don't have a Devil Fruit ability and it was utterly useless on me. So, we were stuck in a  _lovely_  cell for a few days, because those bastards took my metal staff and they had a surprisingly sophisticated lock on Marco's cuffs. We finally just said screw the cuffs and I picked the lock on our cell, and we got the hell out of there. Only good news was that I found my staff on the way out."

"How'd you get back?"

"We spent three days hiding in the forest, not sleeping, and I had to try and pick the damn lock on the cuffs. Today, Marco scared the hell out of them in his phoenix form, I screamed some obscenities, and we got the hell out of there."

"Are you alright?"

"Ace, I still have those cuffs. Either you let me go bathe and then sleep in peace, or I'll put them on you and tie you to the mast," Hotaru answered irritably.

Ace stepped back, putting his hands up in a peace-keeping manner. Hotaru turned on her heel and quickly walked into the washroom, turning on the water for a shower as soon as she had locked the door of the stall behind her. She couldn't think of a time where she was never thankful for the  _Moby Dick_  being large enough to have proper plumbing. She didn't even mind that the water was typically lukewarm—unless they were in the vicinity of a winter island; then it just sucked.

Once Hotaru felt sufficiently clean, she put on a pair of black shorts and a white tank top—her typical sleepwear—and made her way into the women's sleeping quarters. She fell into her hammock, muscles aching, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come. She didn't have to wait long, because the rocking motion of the ship acted like the gentle rocking of a mother to her child and she was asleep in minutes.

Hours later, Hotaru was awakened by a hand gently shaking her shoulder and she opened her eyes to see Elle looking down at her. Hotaru groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, mumbling a request for five more minutes. The request was painfully denied as Elle flipped the young woman's hammock, throwing her onto the floor.

"Up, now," Elle ordered.

"Alright, I'm awake," Hotaru muttered, groaning as she stretched. "Damn, I'm still sore from that recon mission."

"I could always work those knots out for you." Elle cracked her fingers as she spoke and Hotaru's eyes widened in an emotion comparable to fear.

"No, thanks. I'm good. So, what was I woken up for?"

"Thatch needs you. Your boyfriend knocked Jozu overboard while they were training. He's got their heads out of the water, but needs help pulling them up."

"That freaking idiot!" Hotaru yelled as she ran out of the women's sleeping quarters as quickly as she could. She wasn't bothered by the 'boyfriend' comment from Elle, having gotten used to the jibes from her brothers and sisters. Following the pointing fingers of a few of her crewmates, she quickly found where a rope had been thrown down to bring up the Devil Fruit users that had fallen.

"What took you?" Thatch yelled up to her.

"Elle threatened to beat me within an inch of my life," she answered before diving into the water. She shuddered when her skin met the sea, but quickly grabbed onto the now unconscious Ace. "Did he fall asleep in the water or something?"

"Hit his head on Jozu's diamond arm." Hotaru hissed, thinking of how painful it must have been for the Fire Fist.

"He's got a hard head," Jozu commented as he and Thatch gripped the rope to be pulled up first.

Hotaru knew Jozu would be able to climb up on his own once his body was out of the water, but Ace was a slightly different story. They would need to make sure he didn't have a concussion after running into Jozu when he was a living diamond. She was still wondering how the hell Ace had managed that one. A second rope was thrown down as Jozu and Thatch climbed the first and Hotaru tied it around herself and Ace. In the back of her mind, she thought this was becoming far too often an occurrence. She would have to do  _something_  about Ace's narcolepsy.

"Hey, Thatch! Did numskull over here take on any water?" she asked just as Thatch was climbing over the railing. The Fourth Division Commander shook his head down at her.

"He should be fine, once we wake him up. Vista's getting some pain-killers for his head now."

Hotaru chuckled. "He's gonna need 'em." The young man in question finally stirred just before he and Hotaru reached the railing, mumbling something about his head. "You can't stay out of trouble for very long, can you?"

"Don't tell me I fell asleep again," he groaned.

"Nope. You hit your head on some diamonds. I'm surprised you don't have a lump on your head the size of my fist."

"Is that why my head hurts?" Hotaru chuckled and nodded as she and Ace climbed over the railing together. Vista returned moments later with a couple of pills and a glass of water for the young Devil Fruit user.

"Take these," he said as Ace grabbed them with the hand that wasn't holding his pounding head. Hotaru chuckled under her breath as she watched him down the water with the little white pills.

"You really need to be a bit more careful, Ace. I was dumped out of my hammock while I was sleeping so peacefully so I could help Thatch fish you out. I'm just glad you woke up before we got to the deck," Hotaru said as she sat next to Ace.

He gave a wry laughed and turned his head to thank her for pulling him out for what must have been the thousandth time. His mouth opened to speak, but no words came. Hotaru gave him an odd look and asked him if anything was wrong. She didn't seem to notice the flush that Ace could  _feel_  forming on his cheeks.

"Your shirt," he mumbled, sounding almost embarrassed, and glanced away from the young woman seated beside him. Hotaru looked down at the white tank top she'd slept in, now soaked to the point of transparency. She shrugged her shoulders dismissively but crossed her arms to cover her breasts, for decency's sake.

"We're on a ship. You end up seeing everyone naked at some point, whether you want to or not," she answered and stood to walk back to the women's quarters. While she wasn't particularly bothered by the situation, she certainly didn't want to be in wet clothing all day, nor did she wish to make Ace uncomfortable. Hotaru chuckled softly to herself as she went to change her clothes.


	15. Chapter 15

The Whitebeard Pirates soon came to another island, guided by the Log Pose, and Hotaru wasn't surprised when she saw Thatch approaching her in the kitchen. She and Emile had already written up a list together, and she quickly grabbed it off of the refrigerator. Hotaru held it out for the older man as she continued pulling out vegetables for lunch later that day.

"I need you to go today," Thatch told her, setting a list of his own on the counter beside the young woman. "Get the stuff on your list, as well as from this one."

"You got it," Hotaru answered, lifting a sack of potatoes and handing it to Thatch. "You just have to finish pulling these out for lunch. Make sure none of them have any creepy-crawlies and then Emile will handle the rest."

She smirked as she walked past the Fourth Division Commander with both lists, knowing his fear of spiders. It wasn't often she picked on Thatch, but it was always fun on the few occasions she did. As Hotaru made her way onto the deck, she quickly looked for someone who didn't seem to be particularly busy. Ever since she was twelve, Hotaru had gotten into the habit of always asking one of the men to accompany her into a town. She quickly spotted a few men gathered around a game of cards and approached them.

"Need something, Hotaru?" Vista asked from the back of the group, turning the attention of the other men to the nineteen-year-old. They all greeted her with grins and she smiled back.

"Anyone free to go into town with me? I've got a pretty big list and need some help carrying it all." A few smirks were passed through the group before Ace was pushed forward.

"Ace hasn't been doing anything, except falling asleep in the middle of hands," Izou answered. "See if you can keep him awake for a while."

"I only fell asleep once!" Ace yelled in his defense. Hotaru chuckled and grabbed the young man's arm, pulling him towards the boats so they could go into town. The ride was mostly filled with the sounds of the ocean lapping against the wooden boat, as well as seagulls flying overhead. It wasn't until the two of them had docked the skiff that Hotaru spoke.

"I need you to take Thatch's list, and I'll get the food supplies," she said, handing one of the lists to Ace.

"Sure thing. How come you're usually the one going for supplies?"

"It's usually either me or Thatch, maybe Marco on occasion. It's pretty much because I'm typically free, once I finish up in the kitchen. I always bring someone with me, though, because there's no way I can carry all this on my own."

"And you don't like being alone," Ace noted and Hotaru glanced at him pointedly.

She hadn't expected him to remember that from when she'd told him about her discomfort with the darkness. Ace said nothing further on the matter, and Hotaru let it drop as well. The two of them walked through the town at a fairly quick pace, picking up any supplies they could find and occasionally haggling with some of the merchants for a lower price.

"Hey, Ace, how much more do we have on your list?" Hotaru asked at one point.

When she received no answer, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. Ace wasn't there and Hotaru found herself glancing around frantically in search of the Fire Fist. After a moment, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. The last thing she needed was to panic in the middle of the town square. Hotaru glanced back at her list of groceries and saw that she'd crossed everything off. All there was left to find was the supplies on Ace's list, though he was nowhere to be seen.

Hotaru rationalized that it would only be a matter of time before her eyes fell on that ugly orange hat that the younger man wore. She continued walking through the town, backtracking to the docks and the boat she and Ace had taken from the  _Moby Dick_. Ace wasn't in sight, but she knew he would have to come back at some point. As Hotaru set her supplies into the boat, she hoped Ace hadn't fallen asleep while walking through the crowd.

"I should've paid more attention while we were walking," she muttered with a groan as she paced the docks impatiently. Suddenly, she felt something crack against the back of her head and she cried out in pain as she fell to the ground.

* * *

Ace readjusted the sack of ammunition on his shoulder for the third time since losing sight of Hotaru. He'd only looked away for a few minutes and she must have walked off without realizing he'd stopped. As it was, he had no clue where to find the young woman he was accompanying on this little shopping excursion. He'd wandered along the main road of the town, trying to find Hotaru among the large crowd of locals, but was unsuccessful. Ace knew Hotaru disliked being alone because she didn't want to feel as though she needed to watch over her shoulders. With a heavy sigh, Ace turned around and started on his way back to the docks, where he knew she would turn up eventually.

"Hope she shows up soon," he murmured as he neared the docks. Once he was near enough to see the boat they had sailed in on, he could also see a group of about ten burly men surrounding a young woman. It took another second for Ace to realize the young woman was Hotaru, and she was being attacked by those men.

_A fourteen-year-old Ace came upon a large group of children in the middle of the road. Curiosity taking over him, he pushed his way the cheering boys, leaving Luffy behind him. When he came to the center of the crowd, he saw a little blond girl of thirteen years. Lily._

A punch landed on Hotaru's cheek and Ace dropped the supplies he'd been carrying, sprinting towards the men and Hotaru.

_Ace arrived just as the boy in the middle of the fray hit Lily, knocking her backwards. She stumbled to remain standing and Ace could see the bruises on her skin. Rage coursed through his veins as he ran forward to stop his little sister's attacker._

Ace punched out the man who hit Hotaru, his eyes burning with anger. Hotaru watched him with widened eyes. She could only see his back, but could tell he was furious by the way he was carrying himself. She had never seen him this angry, even back when he was trying to kill Oyaji. Ace took a step forward to continue after the men that still surrounded them.

"I can handle this myself!" Hotaru protested, grabbing Ace's wrist. He glanced at her battered and bruised form, and the scowl on his lips only deepened.

_Ace looked over his shoulder from beating the boy who'd hurt Lily and saw her trembling. She was weak, bleeding and favoring her right leg as she leaned on Luffy. It infuriated Ace to see her like that, but he let the kid go, upon his sister's request._

Ace pulled his hand away from her and released a raging inferno on the crew that had ambushed the young woman. As the attacking men screamed from their burns, Ace turned to face Hotaru again. She had a black eye, a cut on her cheek and bruises running all along her arms.

_Ace knelt before the blond girl and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her onto his back. On his back was where she took her last breath, on the way home with Ace and Luffy. Her last words were a reminder to pick up Luffy's birthday present from her. It was the closest thing to a 'goodbye' they ever received._

"Let's go back to the ship," he said, earning a teary-eyed glare. Ace grabbed Hotaru and carried her over his shoulder as he walked through the flames he'd created. She pounded on his back, tears trickling from her eyes.

"You didn't have to save me, you idiot!" she yelled. "I took care of myself just fine before you came along. I don't need you to be saving me every time a few enemy pirates decide to come after me!" Ace didn't say anything. He knew it was the closest thing to a 'thank you' he'd get from her for this action.


	16. Chapter 16

"Look out, Marco!" Hotaru screamed above the sounds of battle-cries, metal clashing and guns firing.

She'd caught a glimpse of an enemy pirate aiming a cannon in the direction of her father-figure as he flew overhead. The phoenix quickly dove as the cannon was fired, the ground beneath Hotaru's feet trembling from the force. Hotaru held a steel staff nearly as long as she was tall as her weapon; the same one she'd used since being taught to fight at age twelve. Her grip was firm as she poured her haki into the weapon, hitting her opponents with enough force to knock them away.

"Don't swing it like that!" Thatch reprimanded as he moved to stand with his back against the young woman to cover her. Hotaru frowned, knowing the Fourth Division Commander had seen her swing the staff like a wooden bat.

"Can you really blame me?" she retorted as another enemy leapt forward and she jabbed him in the stomach with one end of the staff.

"Marco taught you better." Hotaru shook her head with a slight chuckle and swung her staff again with the proper grip. "Good girl." A sword came down on Thatch and he crossed his own blades to force the attacker back, putting more space around himself and Hotaru.

The battle continued, Hotaru and Thatch splitting up, and the young woman soon found herself facing off against a burly man with twin blades. She resisted the urge to smirk, knowing how to fight him after years of training with Thatch. Her opponent leapt above her and crossed his blades over each other, readying to slice clean through the young woman.

Hotaru raised her staff over her head horizontally to hold off the attack. She hadn't planned on the force from the other man to be as great as it was and was thrown off balance as the blades continued to fall upon her under the weight of their owners. Hotaru cried out as her back skidded against the rough ground beneath her, her staff the only thing between her and the blades that were dangerously close to her skin.

"Hotaru!" Ace yelled angrily as he fought enemies of his own. Hotaru scowled under the pressure of the burly man above her, trying to keep her focus on the task at hand.

"Not now, Ace!" she yelled back, pushing against the weight of her opponent. The blades slipped from where they'd been held by her staff and one sliced into her left shoulder. Blood trickled from the wound, pulsing with the young woman's heartbeat, and she gritted her teeth against the pain. "Bastard!"

She kneed the man in the stomach, allowing for enough leeway to force the man off her with a little Busōshoku Haki. He stumbled back and Hotaru quickly stood, swinging her staff to knock the man to the ground. While her opponent was still in shock from the sudden force used against him, Hotaru pressed one end of her staff on his jugular and used her weight to cut off his flow of oxygen.

"You… little…" the man choked out. Hotaru watched with cold eyes as she leaned into her staff and the man stopped flailing beneath her. It was only after the light left his eyes that she pulled away to continue fighting.

* * *

After the battle was over and the Whitebeard Pirates had won, Hotaru found herself to be out of breath and badly bruised. The cut on her arm was still throbbing, though the blood had clotted. With a heavy sigh, Hotaru walked off to find her brothers, knowing they couldn't have been far. She was proven correct when she spotted Marco and Thatch carrying loot a short distance ahead of her.

"Marco! Thatch!" she called and picked up her pace to catch up with them. The two older men turned around and Thatch grinned at her.

"I take it you kicked some ass," he said, earning a tired grin from the young woman.

"You bet." Marco raised an eyebrow and grabbed her left arm at the elbow, examining the wound on her shoulder.

"What'd you do this time?" he asked and Hotaru pulled her arm back with a shrug.

"My staff slipped under a pair of swords. I'm just glad the bastard didn't hit my tattoo." Marco rolled his eyes and pulled a grey bandana from his pocket, turning it into a makeshift bandage around Hotaru's arm.

"Have Elle take a look at it when you get back to the ship."

"Will do," Hotaru answered, giving him a mock salute and ducking when he moved to ruffle her hair. As she took a step back, she bumped into another man and quickly whirled around to see him. A grin broke across her features when she saw Ace standing behind her. "Ah, there you are. I hadn't heard from you in a while and wondered where you'd disappeared to."

It took a moment for Hotaru to notice the deep frown on Ace's lips and the rage burning in his eyes. Hotaru cocked her head with a confused expression on her face. She was about to ask what was wrong with him, but he suddenly turned away and stormed off, flames licking the ground beneath his feet. Hotaru glanced back at Marco and Thatch, the perplexed expression still painted across her features.

"What's with him?" the Fourth Division Commander asked, earning a shrug from the young woman.

"Dunno, but I'm going to find out. I'll meet you guys back at the ship, hopefully with a calmer pyro." With that, Hotaru turned back around and ran after Ace. He seemed to be walking faster to avoid her, which only prompted the young woman to run faster. "Ace, wait up!"

"Go back to the ship, Hotaru!" Ace yelled, sounding as though he was speaking through clenched teeth.

"What are you so pissed about? Hey! Slow down! Why don't you just talk to me and tell me what's bugging you?" Hotaru received no response as Ace continued to storm off in an attempt to leave her behind. The young woman would have none of that. "You need to calm down, Ace."

"Then go back to the ship!" he yelled, fire exploding from his body as he whirled around to face her. Hotaru's arms flew up to protect her face from the flames and she screamed out as pain ripped through her skin. Ace stared at her for a second, stunned by what he had done. "Oh, shit! Hotar—oomf!" He was cut off as a rough hand gripped the back of his head, slamming him into the dirt.

Hotaru dropped to her knees with tears stinging her eyes. She cradled her hands and forearms to her chest as she bit her lip to keep herself from crying. Her burns throbbed painfully in time with her pulse. Glancing up for a moment, she could see Marco kneeling beside Ace, his hand pressed firmly against the back of the younger man's head. The First Division Commander was livid.

"What the _hell_  were you thinking?" he demanded harshly. Ace turned his head so he could both speak and breathe without the earth beneath him entering his mouth.

"I didn't mean to."

"Learn to control your damn temper!" Marco's voice then lowered to a menacing whisper. "Look what you did to my daughter."

Ace's eyes shifted to the young woman who was still on her knees with her arms as close to her body as she would allow them to be. Tears were falling from her eyes now and he could almost swear he heard meek whimpers coming from her lips. It was as if she didn't want anyone to know she was crying, though she was clearly in pain. A pang of guilt shot through Ace and he averted his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he mumbling pitifully. Hotaru shook her head slowly, as if trying to regain her composure.

"Marco, let him go," she whispered with a hiccup.

Marco stared at the young woman for a moment before swiftly standing up, releasing Ace from his grasp. The First Division Commander approached Hotaru and helped her stand, carefully leading her back to the  _Moby Dick_  without a backward glance to the young man that had been left in the dirt with his thoughts. Ace stared after them for a moment, pushing himself off the ground with a heavy feeling in his chest. He hadn't intended to harm the young woman, which was why he'd tried to tell her to leave him alone. With a heavy sigh, Ace picked himself up and followed the two pirates at a distance, hoping he could make amends.

* * *

Hours later, Ace found himself wondering into the galley of the  _Moby Dick_ , avoiding Marco as best he could. It was there he found Hotaru sitting alone at one of the tables with each of her arms in a bucket of water. He figured the water must have been room temperature, of not slightly cooler, as it was common knowledge that ice water would only cause more damage to a burn wound. Ace began walking towards the young woman and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. Hotaru gave him a small smile as he took a seat beside her, but he couldn't meet her eyes. He looked down at the buckets of water in which her arms rested and felt that pang of guilt again.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine," Hotaru answered easily, as though she'd already forgiven him for burning her. "It was an accident. Besides, Elle says there won't be any scars left, and I can take my arms out of the water at any time. I'm just keeping them in because the burns hurt in the open air." Ace glanced at Hotaru again, and then away.

"I'm sorry." Hotaru frowned, wondering why he was so adamant on apologizing to her. She figured what had happened was a simple mistake and she would simply have to be more careful.

"I told you it's fine. Listen, I forgive you. Marco's still pretty pissed, though."

"With good reason. I burned you… I burned his daughter."

"Ace, relax. I'm not mad at you or anything, and Marco will get over it. Why won't you look at me?" Hotaru received no response from the Fire Fist, to which she could only sigh heavily. She pulled her arms out of the water and carefully rested a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Ace, come on. I'm not going to hold this against you. Sure, I might kick your ass once I'm healed, but that's it. So, how about you tell me why this bothers you so much?"

Hotaru barely had time to blink before she felt Ace's hands on her shoulders and his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened in bewilderment as she inhaled sharply. Her mind raced as it attempted to process what her senses of sight and touch were telling her. "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace was kissing her, and butterflies were actually fluttering in her stomach at the sensation of his lips on hers. A moment later, she pressed her lips more firmly to his, her hands resting on his chest as she leaned into him.

Hotaru was ignorant to the world around her, until the burns on her forearms began throbbing with her racing heartbeat. At her discomfort, a sound comparable to a strangled whimper escaped from her throat. Not a second later, Ace had taken her hands in his and began pulling away. He carefully placed her hands back into the soothing water, smirking as he stared at the blush on Hotaru's flustered face.

"That's why," he answered. Hotaru's eyes remained wide until she heard snickering from behind her, coming from the doorway to the kitchen. Her brow then furrowed and a frown came across her lips. She was certain she worked with a bunch of gossip-hounding women. Hotaru quickly turned around to glare at Emile and the other two cooks that were peeking from the kitchen.

"Get the hell out of here!" she yelled, throwing one of the buckets of water at them. The three men ducked back behind the doorway and Hotaru turned her attention back to Ace, the blush on her cheeks even brighter than before. "They're all old ladies, I swear."


	17. Chapter 17

Hotaru was stretched out on the deck of the ship, eyes closed and a content smile on her lips. The sun was shining brightly down on her as she lounged like a cat on a sunny windowsill. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair in the same affectionate manner Marco often did. She sighed softly, resting her hands under her head as a pillow. A few moments later, she noticed a change of lighting behind her eyelids and cracked one eye open to see Ace standing over her.

"Need anything?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger man. Ace knelt so that his head was hovering over hers, still blocking the sun from her view. One hand was hidden behind his back, which prompted Hotaru to open her other eye and give him a curious expression.

"Just wanted to wish you a happy twentieth," he answered, procuring a little porcelain doll from behind his back.

Hotaru stared at the toy for a moment before sitting up and turning to face Ace. He held out the doll and Hotaru took it in her hands, running her fingers over the black hair and little red kimono that the miniature girl wore. Ace didn't miss the almost childlike astonishment on the young woman's face. He refrained from grinning like a fool, having not recognized the expression as it was displayed on Hotaru's features. Hotaru usually had only a few settings: mature, playful or pissed. Seeing her with this longing in her eyes as she held her breath to preserve a moment of silence was alien to the man. Hotaru's head snapped up to look him in the eyes, her own still holding that astonishment.

"Why did you…"

"Hina Matsuri. I remember you told me about it when you pulled out the poppers on my birthday. Happy birthday, Hotaru." The black-haired woman looked back down at the doll for a moment, running her fingers over its hair like she was brushing back the tiny locks, before snapping her attention back to Ace and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered. Ace was taken aback for a moment, but rested his arms around her. When Hotaru pulled away, Ace could still see that gentle smile on her lips as she held the doll close to her. It reminded him of how a mother would gently hold her child. He was beginning to wonder if he should be worried for Hotaru's mental health.

"You're welcome, but what're you getting all teary-eyed for?" he asked. Hotaru frowned and Ace watched as her defensive face made itself clear.

"I'm  _not_  teary-eyed. I'm just… nostalgic, is all," Hotaru answered, her voice becoming gentler again. Ace knew after a year on the  _Moby Dick_  with the young woman that whenever she took on that tone of voice, he had to be careful with his words.

"Does it have to do with a previous birthday?"

Hotaru nodded slowly. "Birthdays, really. Like I told you on  _your_  birthday, I was never really celebrated before joining the Whitebeard Pirates. After I joined, Anne started celebrating my birthday by giving me a doll. For three years, she was the one to get the doll for me every year. After she was killed, Marco, Jozu and Thatch did it in her place. I haven't gotten a doll since I was sixteen."

"Why not?"

"First, because I was too old, but it was really because I asked them to stop. It was… honestly painful."

"Painful?"

"You can't tell me you weren't sad whenever you went back to Lily's grave, or when you remembered Sabo at a random moment after his death. It was like that whenever they bought me a doll on my birthday. While it was nice to think of good times with Anne, it only served to remind me that I would never have those good times with her again," Hotaru explained. Ace nodded slowly, seeing the young woman's point of view on the matter, but there was still one thing he didn't get.

"So, why did you  _thank_  me if you think it's painful?" he asked. Hotaru smirked and gave the young man a playful punch on the shoulder.

"It's a little hard to explain."

Hotaru really wasn't sure how to tell Ace that he'd reminded her of happier times. At least, how could she tell him without sounding like a complete sap? In giving her that doll of his own accord—rather than by some feeling of obligation, like Marco, Jozu and Thatch had done—he'd given Hotaru a gift as precious as the dolls Anne had always given her.

"I got time."

Hotaru shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Thank you again for the doll."

"I know how you can thank me," Ace suggested and Hotaru rolled her eyes in response. She leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his cheek, giving him a smirk when he looked disappointed. "That's the best you're getting."

"But-"

"No buts," Hotaru answered with a wink, just as a rough hand rested on her head and ruffled her short hair. She quickly ducked her head. "Marco!" A small glittering object was dropped into the young woman's hand and she stared down at the tiny gold hoop earring in her palm.

"Thought you'd want to replace the earring, after it bent last week," the First Division Commander said, answering Hotaru's question before she could ask it. Hotaru looked up at the older man with a grin and set the doll from Ace gently in her lap as she exchanged the bent gold hoop in the cartilage of her left ear with the new one Marco had given her.

"Thank you, Marco. I was looking for a good one the other day. Damn bastard in my last fight wrecked my old earring."

"And you killed him for it."

"I wouldn't think you'd kill over jewelry," Ace commented as he finally sat, rather than knelt, beside Hotaru.

"It's just the earring," she answered simply, giving a small smile to Marco.

He understood the significance of that simple piece of jewelry to Hotaru. After all, he had been the one she approached when she was thirteen and had wanted to get it in the first place. That simple gold hoop served as a tiny tribute to the woman Hotaru viewed as her mother. Marco ruffled the young woman's hair again.

"Try not to get this one wrecked again," he said as Hotaru swatted his hand away. She stood and hugged the First Division Commander, whispering another thank you. After Marco had left, Hotaru took her place back on the deck next to Ace and grinned at him as he stared expectantly.

"Well?" he prompted.

"Well, what?" Hotaru asked, feigning innocence. She couldn't help but giggle when Ace's expectant expression changed to one to annoyance. "I'll tell you what the earring is for, if you tell me something else that nobody knows about you."


	18. Chapter 18

"Hotaru, I want to ask you something."

The dark-haired woman turned upon hearing her name and smiled when she saw Fire Fist Ace standing across from her in the kitchen. He was leaning against the doorway casually, but Hotaru could see the seriousness in his eyes. Whatever he wanted to ask her wasn't something he planned to make a joke out of. She elbowed Emile in the ribs when she heard him chuckling at Ace's request.

"Sure thing," she answered, setting her utensils down. "I'll be back in a minute, Emile."

"Take your time, Firefly," the cook answered, still chuckling despite Hotaru's minor assault. Hotaru followed Ace as he took a seat in the empty galley, far away from the door that led to the kitchen. As they each took a seat on the bench beside them, Hotaru waited patiently for the flame user to start talking.

"Some of the guys have been saying I should be Second Division Commander, and I wanted to know what you thought of it," he said, staring directly into Hotaru's eyes. She grinned and shoved Ace's shoulder.

"Sounds good to me. Just don't let the power go to your head, or I'll have to kick your ass for real." Ace stared at her for a moment, a slightly confused expression on his features and Hotaru's grin faltered. Had he expected her to tell him not to be the division commander? Had that been what he was hoping for?

"You really wouldn't be bothered by it?"

"No. Why should I be? Our division has been needing a new commander, but nobody was good enough for the job. You are. Why did you think it would upset me if you became our new commander?"

"You told me Anne was the previous Second Division Commander."

Hotaru sighed heavily. "Anne was the best commander I could've asked for when I was a child. Of course, I'd never known anything different, so of course I thought she was best. Still do, even. But no one can replace Anne… and I know you're not going to try to. You're going to make your own decisions, not ask other people what Anne would have done. She was a great commander, but it's time we had someone take up the position again. The Second Division needs a commander, and I think you're best for the job, as long as the others in our division agree."

Ace nodded slowly, but he didn't seem wholly convinced. This only earned a confused expression from Hotaru again. Did he not  _want_  to be the Second Division Commander? Should she have told him he'd be the worst person for the job? But he would know better than to expect that from Hotaru. She wasn't submissive and certainly wouldn't tell him something just because he wanted to hear it. It was true that she believed he would make a good commander. Whether or not he acted upon the recommendations of her and her fellow crewmates was entirely up to him. Ace's odd expression quickly changed to a grin when he noticed Hotaru staring at him, but she could tell it wasn't genuine.

"Thanks, Hotaru. I'll keep that in mind when I talk to Oyaji," he said and gave her a brisk kiss before standing to leave. Hotaru wasn't satisfied in the least, but she let him go. She figured if he wanted to tell her what was bothering him, then she wouldn't have to ask him for it.

* * *

Later that evening, Hotaru was leaning against the railing of the ship, staring up at the night sky. The stars seemed brighter than usual that night though she couldn't be sure if it was simply because there were fewer clouds, or if it had something to do with the completely unpredictable weather in the Grand Line. Whatever the case, Hotaru thought the sky was beautiful that night and was happy to have the time to view it without interruptions. That was, until Ace approached her and leaned on the railing as well. While she faced the sea, he kept his back to it.

"I just talked to Oyaji," Ace said, his voice barely above a whisper so as to avoid the completely ruining the calming silence that came as the sea lapped against the hull of the ship. Hotaru made a sound of acknowledgement, but said nothing further. "I'm going to be the Second Division Commander as of tomorrow."

"Good. I'm glad," Hotaru murmured, sounding as though she was only half-attentive to the conversation.

"There's something else I need to tell you." Hotaru tore her gaze from the stars and turned her head so she could see the man standing beside her.

"Don't tell me you're nervous about being commander."

"Of course not. It's something else. Oyaji knows about it, but I figured I should tell you too."

"Alright. Let's hear it," Hotaru answered as she turned and sat on the deck of the  _Moby Dick_. Ace followed suit, crossing his legs.

"My father was Gol D. Roger." Ace figured it would be best to get it over with quickly and hear Hotaru's response, rather than draw the conversation out. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at him.

"You interrupted my star-gazing for that?"

"So it doesn't bother you that my father was your captain's enemy?"

"Does it bother you? I mean,  _you're_  the one who swore allegiance to Oyaji with that knowledge."

"Roger was never my father, as far as I'm concerned."

"Then it doesn't bother me in the least. Oyaji always told me that we are all children of the sea. He told me that the day I met him and he allowed me to join his crew. I've never put much weight behind who gave us our flesh and blood, because it's the people who raise us that shape us."

"Like Anne and Marco did for you?"

"And how your life with Sabo, Luffy and Lily did for you. Ace, before I met Marco and Anne, I never had any parents as far as I was concerned. I was the product of a one-night-stand. The man who sired me doesn't know I exist, and the woman who birthed me never gave a damn about me. If I never see her again, I'd be perfectly content. Marco and Anne were my parents. They took me in and raised me. Biology means nothing to me, and you shouldn't let it bother you either."

"I take it you've thought this through more than once."

"Since I let home and joined this crew. I've always known who my family was and never once questioned the fact that they were all pirates. I'm actually surprised you put any weight into whom your father was, if you've resented him. I mean, you didn't even take his last name."

"It's my mother's."

"So you put weight into who she was, but not who sired you," Hotaru reiterated with a shrug. "Whatever works for you." Silence prevailed between the two of them for a moment and Hotaru continued her stargazing, perfectly content to not speak. She leaned so her head rested on Ace's shoulder, pushing the brim of his orange hat askew so it would no longer obstruct her view from the night sky.

"Thanks, Hotaru," Ace said, giving her a grin.

The young woman smiled softly, knowing he was thanking her for understanding his choice. How could she not? She was in much the similar situation, with the only exception being that she'd actually known her mother. Hotaru gave a slight shrug in response, keeping her eyes focused on the stars just past Ace's head. She'd never been very good with these heart-felt moments, growing up with pirates and all, and she didn't plan on making this a 'wonderful learning experience', as Thatch doubtlessly would've put it.

Her view was soon obstructed again, though not by a hat this time. Instead, Ace had angled Hotaru's head to allow her to look at him before he pressed his lips firmly to hers. Her eyes widened significantly, much like the first time he'd kissed her, and her mind numbed for a moment. In that lapse in coherent thought, her body began taking over and she began responding to him. It only took another second before logic returned to her and she quickly pulled away, putting a few steps between her and the Fire Fist. In return, Ace gave her a very confused expression, to which she could only mumble an apology before turning away to make a break for it. She barely took a step before Ace's grip was around her wrist.

"Let go of me, Ace," she murmured, tugging against him. His hold on her only tightened, though not painfully so.

"What the hell, Hotaru?"

"I said let me go."

"Not until you tell me why you're running away."

"I have to," Hotaru answered simply. "I have to get away from you before I do something stupid."

"Like what?" Ace asked. He realized a second later that his tone sounded slightly harsher than he'd intended.

Hotaru shook her head. She knew that Ace had feelings for her, but she couldn't allow herself to return them, as much as she wanted to. She'd seen what love did to people, how it could tear them apart from the inside out. Hotaru remembered Anne, and the day she died. It was the most painful experience she had been through as a child. She could still remember how Marco had been after the death of the former Second Division Commander. He had been in so much pain for years, and Hotaru could still see a hint of the sorrow in his eyes whenever the woman was brought up in casual conversation. Hotaru didn't want that. She didn't want to be destroyed because she fell in love. She would flirt and be playful and steal chaste kisses, but she  _couldn't_  fall in love.

"Just let me go, Ace!"

Hotaru was surprised when she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks and she hoped the Fire Fist wouldn't notice them if she didn't turn to face him. When she tried to pull her hand away from him again, she found herself pulled back into his embrace, her head now resting on his shoulder. His body heat surrounded her and she found it hard to resist when his arms rested in a protective manner on her back.

"What are you running away from?" he asked, his voice now barely above a whisper.

"I've seen this before. I can't watch you die."

"You think I'll die if you kiss me?" Hotaru wanted to punch him for his almost joking tone.

"Don't be stupid. I know if I let myself fall for your stupid charms, then I will have to watch you die someday and I can't do that." When Ace started chuckling, Hotaru pulled away from the embrace and stared up at him incredulously. Was he seriously  _laughing_  at her fears?

"If you're afraid to watch me die, then I'll just have to make sure I don't die, now won't I?" he asked rhetorically. Hotaru watched him for a moment, unsure what to make of what she'd just heard. Was he really serious? He was promising not to die? How could he possibly guarantee that, least of all for her sake?

"You're crazy," she murmured. Ace's laughter died down and he gave her that cocky grin of his, the grin belonging to those with the Will of D.

"I've already promised Luffy I won't die. Now I have someone else to stay alive for. I'd have to be some kind of idiot if I died and left you miserable."

"You can't guarantee that you won't die tomorrow."

"I lived through five days of fighting Jinbei. What's another fifty years as a pirate?" To that, Hotaru found herself laughing right along with him. He was crazy, she decided, but then again she was probably crazy for feeling the way she did about him. With a sigh of resignation, Hotaru draped her arms around Ace's neck and kissed him. Whatever was to come, she wouldn't have to face it alone. She knew that now.


	19. Chapter 19

The storm outside was powerful, something the Whitebeard Crew had become only somewhat accustomed to in the Grand Line. The sails had all been raised to prevent tearing and the captain had ordered for the anchor to be dropped until the storm passed, or at least let up a bit. Of course, there was no telling how long this would last, but his children's safety was what mattered most at the moment. Much of the crew was within the walls of the  _Moby Dick_ , many telling stories or playing games to pass the time. Few were drinking, knowing they could be needed at a moment's notice.

Hotaru was in the Second Division Commander's room, lighting a few lanterns to keep some light while she visited with Ace. Typically, she liked the rain, but not like this. Not when the ship bucked almost constantly. It was one of the few things at sea that really made her uneasy. She knew it was difficult to maintain the ship in this weather, and if someone were to fall overboard, they were as good as dead. It was for that reason she was glad all Devil Fruit users had been ordered to remain inside until the storm passed and all other crew members could go on deck only if absolutely necessary.

"You look antsy," Ace commented loosely from where he was seated on his bed. Hotaru glanced at him from over her shoulder.

"Of course I am," she answered. "This is some serious weather."

"You love the rain."

"This is too much. It's dangerous like this."

She blew out the match she'd been using to light the lanterns and walked across the room to sit next to Ace. As soon as she was seated, his arm was around her shoulders and she felt as though her worries began to melt with the natural heat of the man beside her. Despite herself, she started to relax and found herself feeling drowsy. With a quick glance to the time-keeper, she realized it was late and she'd been up far longer than she normally would have been on her shifts. It wasn't long before she drifted to sleep with her head resting on Ace's shoulder.

* * *

Hours later, Hotaru awoke in the middle of the night to find that the sounds of the storm had disappeared from outside. She looked over to Ace and found that he was still in a dead sleep beside her. With a gentle smile, Hotaru slid out of bed and soundlessly exited the room. She wanted to go up onto the deck to see what nature had left them with in the wake of her power. There were no sounds but her footsteps padding along the corridors of the  _Moby Dick_  as she made her way through the ship. When she came to the deck, she inhaled deeply, loving the taste of the clean air after rainfall. Hotaru didn't take more than three paces onto the deck before her eyes fell upon a gruesome sight.

She screamed as loud as her vocal chords could bear.

It was only a matter of minutes before she heard the pounding feet of her fellow crewmates, but she could only drop to her knees and struggle to hold back the bile in her throat. Lying before her on the deck was the Fourth Division Commander, Thatch. So much blood stained his clothes in a dark maroon that she wondered if it had all come from his body. His eyes were lifeless as they stared at her from only a few feet away and Hotaru could feel her body preparing to be sick again. When the pounding boots stopped, she heard a few curses from the men that had come at the sound of her scream.

The first to touch her was Marco and Hotaru held onto him as though he was her only connection to the world; as though he was the only thing real. She felt as though if she let go, she would float away into nothingness. His arms wrapped around her and he began pulling her away from the sight of Thatch dead on the deck of the ship, but the image was now burned into her memories. She would never forget all that blood, and those lifeless eyes. Her own eyes squeezed shut as she lurched forward and emptied the contents of her stomach. Tears poured down her cheeks, but Hotaru couldn't find the will in her to try to stop them.

"Who the hell did this?" Ace's voice demanded above the clamor of other men on-deck. Only seconds later, the thudding footsteps of their captain neared and there was silence. The only sounds to be heard were Hotaru's sobs as she struggled to regain her composure.

"My son," Whitebeard murmured somberly, the expression in his eyes holding both sadness and ire.

"Oyaji, one of the skiffs is missing!" a member of the Fifth Division yelled as he ran up the stairs that led up from below the deck.

"The coward ran away!" another hollered.

"Take a head-count. Find out who is missing!" Marco ordered from where he was knelt beside Hotaru. The twenty-one-year-old woman continued to tremble, unable to move otherwise. The First Division Commander lifted her in his arms, aiming to carry her away from the sight of Thatch's lifeless body on the deck of the ship they called home.

"I want to know who did it," Hotaru murmured, choking on her voice. She rested her head against Marco's shoulder as he continued to walk with her in his arms. Marco shook his head slowly.

"Later."

"No. I want to know as soon as everyone else does."

"Hotaru-"

"I've been a member of this crew for eleven years. I think I've earned the right to know who killed my brother."

Marco sighed heavily, but remained silent. Hotaru knew he wouldn't be answering her request anytime soon, but she didn't particularly mind at the moment. She knew she wouldn't like the answer, and he was just trying to protect her. Her brother had been killed in cold blood, and Hotaru wasn't naïve enough to think it hadn't been another brother to do the deed. Rather than argue with Marco, she simply continued the silence he started as he carried her back to the room she'd spent the night in with Ace.

The First Division Commander rested the younger woman on the bed and she curled into a ball, clutching the lapels of his shirt tightly. His arms wrapped carefully around her shoulders as they shook from her sobs as she tried to hold them in. He could remember the last time she was in this state, back when Anne had been murdered by the Marines. Hotaru  _still_  tried to be strong; tried to be the way she thought a pirate should be. More silence prevailed for what seemed like an eternity while Marco stayed with her, before the door burst open with an infuriated Portgas D. Ace standing in the entryway.

"I'm going to kill that bastard!" he yelled. Marco looked up at the younger Division Commander; while Hotaru's bleary eyes followed his gaze. Ace was seething, to the point where Hotaru could almost swear she saw steam rising from his body. She wouldn't have doubted it, considering his Devil Fruit ability.

"Who was it?" Hotaru asked, her voice still wavering from her tears. Marco's arms around her tightened as he glanced pointedly at Ace, hoping the Fire Fist wouldn't answer just yet. His hopes were shot down.

"Marshall D. Teach! That son of a bitch was the one who killed Thatch, and he took the Yami Yami no Mi!"

"That was the Devil Fruit Thatch found just the other day."

Marco's brow furrowed. "That's probably what Teach was after in the first place," he muttered angrily. He could feel Hotaru trembling in his arms and when he looked down, he could see the fury in her gaze.

Hotaru couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Marshall D. Teach—that bastard—had killed Thatch for a Devil Fruit! Thatch was among the kindest men she had ever met, and he was murdered brutally by a sewer rat like Teach… Blackbeard. Where was the justice in that? A scowl reached her lips as her hands clenched into fists. Blackbeard  _would_ pay. She didn't care how, just so long as a member of Whitebeard's crew was the one to do the deed. It was against Oyaji's law to kill nakama. In killing Thatch and running away, Teach had sealed his fate. He  _would_  be killed, and it would be a hundred times worse than what he had done to the Fourth Division Commander.

"I want him dead," she muttered.

"Hotaru," Marco began.

"No. Stop treating me like a child, Marco. I want Teach dead for what he's done. Thatch deserves nothing less than to have that bastard rotting in hell!"

"He will," Ace growled.

* * *

Hotaru was standing by the railing of the  _Moby Dick_  as she listened to all the commotion, her hands still clenched into tight fists at her side. She was sure she had deep nail marks in her palms by this time, but couldn't find it in her to care. Instead, she could only think of what was happening before her eyes now. Ace was still livid, as was to be expected, and vowed revenge on Marshall D. Teach. The other men aboard the ship tried to hold onto him, to calm him down. Hotaru knew it was no use. Once Ace's mind was set to something, he would follow through with it to the death.

Ace reached the side of the ship, where Hotaru was standing, and placed one foot on the railing. He was about to leap overboard and onto his skiff when Hotaru's hand gripped his wrist. Ace looked back at her, staring into her haggard eyes. Hotaru stared up at him, a million thoughts in her head. If anyone could stop him from going off against the better judgment of Oyaji, it was her. He would listen to her, if she just asked him to stay on the ship. She could have stopped him, but she couldn't find it in her heart to do that. Hotaru understood Ace's desire to avenge Thatch, because that was exactly how she felt.

There were so many thoughts running through her head at that moment. Should she tell him to make sure Teach was good and dead? But she already knew that was going to happen. Ace wouldn't rest until that bastard had paid for what he had done. She could have told him she loved him, but he knew that already. Time seemed to stand still as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't die out there," she murmured as she released his wrist and gazed firmly into his eyes. Ace nodded, not even giving his trademark grin of reassurance, before leaping down onto his skiff.

"Ace!" one of the crew members yelled after him, but the Fire Fist was already speeding off into the horizon to begin his mission.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Marco asked as Hotaru stared after Ace.

"I couldn't have kept him from wanting to kill Blackbeard. He'll come back to us alive. I'm sure of it." After all, she thought, Ace had promised her he wouldn't die and leave her alone.


	20. Chapter 20

Blood was all over the battlefield, not that Hotaru was unused to the sight. She'd seen plenty of death in her lifetime—too much, actually. What she hadn't expected was  _his_ blood to be smeared on her hands. They had all been through so much hell to get him back from the damned Marines—she wasn't about to lose another person to those bastards—and now  _this_  had happened. Akainu had provoked the hot-head, and tried to kill Ace's younger brother. Hotaru had done what had seemed entirely natural; she grabbed Luffy and held onto him for dear life, using her own body as a shield from the Magma Fist.

The upper portion of her back had been burned, and she'd screamed out from the pain, but it was nothing like what she had expected. It was the expression of pure, unadulterated shock on Luffy's face that prompted her to turn her head and steal a glance behind. What she'd seen forced her to release Strawhat as her breath caught in her throat. Akainu's fist had gone straight through Ace's torso, leaving a gaping hole in him.

And now there he was in front of her, held in the arms of his younger brother, bleeding profusely from the mortal wound. Hotaru found it hard to breathe as she stared at him, kneeling beside Luffy with one hand reaching out but not quite touching Ace's face. Her hand trembled as the tears fell from her eyes and blurred her vision.

"You lying bastard," she hissed. "You promised me you wouldn't die… You promised!"

She wanted to hit him, and kiss him at the same time. Her hand finally came to rest on his cheek and her thumb swiped away at the blood trailing from his mouth. Hotaru was sorely disappointed when the blood continued to flow as readily as her tears. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ace, the bright flame that he was, had been snuffed out in an instant. He was dying, right there before her eyes.

For a moment, she remembered how she'd felt at Anne's death. Then at discovering Thatch's body. Those instances were nothing compared to this moment, as she watched her lover's life fade from his eyes with every passing second. She vaguely heard him apologize for dying on them, and a part of her wanted to laugh it off; pretend the wound was merely superficial and say he was going to live. But she knew better than to believe that kind of false hope.

"Whitebeard, Hotaru, everyone… and you, Luffy," Ace whispered, and Hotaru gasped as she realized these would be his last words. "Even though I've been good for nothing all my life, and had the blood of a demon in me, you all still loved me. Thank you so much."

His body fell from his younger brother's grasp and Hotaru could only watch with hiccupping sobs as he hit the harsh ground. She covered her mouth with her hand, only to taste blood on her lips. When she looked down, she remembered Ace's blood that had been smeared across her palm and she quickly shook her head in horror. Luffy's face turned to the sky, while Hotaru pressed her forehead to the ground beneath her. After a minute, she felt the breath return to her lungs, only to force itself back through her throat again.

She screamed until her throat was hoarse.


	21. Chapter 21

Hotaru awoke in an all-too familiar room, feeling as though her body had been through hell and back. All the infirmaries on every ship of Whitebeard's fleet were designed to look and function in exactly the same manner. Hotaru knew she couldn't be on the  _Moby Dick_ , because that had been sunk by Akainu. The thought of that bastard brought to mind the battle at Marineford, where the Whitebeard Crew had suffered a greater loss than she'd ever before experienced. Their captain, their  _father_  was dead because of those bastard Marines. Lifting an achy arm, Hotaru rested her right hand on her forehead with a light groan. She brought her mind back to the battlefield, trying to remember all that had happened prior to her losing consciousness. She remembered the pain of Oyaji dying, still standing on his feet, and a sharp pain shot through her chest again.

Hotaru turned her head, resting her hand back where it had been on the infirmary bed. Her gaze found a bright orange cowboy hat with two blue smilies staring back at her. One was grinning maniacally, the other frowning like the mask of a tragedy. Tears clouded her eyes as those two little smilies watched her, and she suddenly was brought back to the most painful wound she'd received on that battlefield. It was not a physical one.

Her body began trembling as the tears spilled freely from her eyes and onto the pillow beneath her head. The heaving sobs brought a new wave of pain through her body and she was reminded of the severe burns she'd gained not only on her upper back, but across her stomach. Ace's final words were engrained into her mind, as was the final smile he gave her before breathing his last breath. That damned bastard Akainu was going to pay dearly for what he'd done.

"All hitting you at once?" a familiar, comforting male voice asked. Hotaru whipped her head to the right and saw Marco sitting on a nearby stool, staring down at her with… something deeper than sympathy. Empathy. That was how she could best describe it. He knew  _exactly_  what she was feeling; knew exactly what kinds of things must have been going through her mind. Hotaru nodded numbly, swiping at her eyes in an attempt to rid them of her tears.

"They're gone… both of them," she whimpered, her voice breaking. Marco leaned forward and carefully rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, Hotaru. We've all been through a lot."

The twenty-one-year-old woman gave no response, but she finally let the dam break and allowed her emotions to run without restraint. More sobs ripped through her abdomen, bringing a wave of pain with each hiccup and her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. Marco let her cry on her own for a moment before moving to sit beside her on the bed. He wasn't surprised when her hands found his arms and clung to them for dear life. If she hadn't been so injured from her burns, he would have scooped her into his arms and held her like he had when she was only a child.

What surprised him was when she began pushing herself into a sitting position, her arms trembling under the weight of her body. Instinctively, Marco's put one arm behind her back to support her, only to pull away when Hotaru arched her back and cried out in pain. Marco quickly replaced his hand on a lower part of her back, keeping her body supported while refraining from touching the tender area around her shoulder blades.

"Son of a bitch," the young woman hissed through gritted teeth.

"Lie back down, Hotaru," Marco commanded. When she shook her head, Marco pressed his free hand on her collar bone and forced her to lie back on the bed. "Don't argue with me. You need to let your wounds heal."

Hotaru scoffed. "Which ones?"

Marco sighed heavily at the young woman's words. He would never have wished this upon her, the same pain he'd felt at Anne's death. Hotaru was still young; still a child in his mind. She shouldn't have had to watch Ace die, especially not in that manner. Losing both her mother and her lover to the Marines was too much for Hotaru to have to bear. Even worse was losing Thatch and Whitebeard to Teach. Macro couldn't help but wonder how much more Hotaru would have to go through before it was enough. He feared it would never be enough and she was doomed to suffer for the rest of her days.

"Just… promise me you'll rest for another day or two before you try moving around the ship."

Hotaru let out a slow breath. "Fine. How's Jozu?"

"He's fine. His arm was able to be saved, so he'll be just fine."

"And what happened after I passed out? I thought I saw Red Hair on the battlefield."

"Yeah. Red Hair showed up and put an end to the battle. His ship is traveling with ours. We're going to bury our fallen," Marco answered carefully.

Hotaru's gaze shifted towards the door, but she knew better than to try and get up yet. She knew Marco would simply stop her again. Her best bet was to wait, as he'd ordered, and then take a walk around the ship to see the damage for herself. There was a part of her that didn't want to believe this had all happened and that she needed to see it to believe it. Some would have been happy to live in that blissful denial, but Hotaru hated it. It simply made the truth harder to accept later, and she wanted to get the pain over with as quickly as possible.  _Like pulling off a Band-Aid._

"Marco," Hotaru murmured softly, almost commanding the commander's attention, "I'm going to make sure the bastards who killed our family pay for what they've done. I don't care how long it takes, it's going to happen."

"Hotaru-"

"I don't care what you say, Marco. I can't promise you that I'll be particularly safe with what I'm going to do, but I'll be smart about it. I'm not going to take unnecessary risks and I'm not going to rush into anything blindly. I'm going to take my time, and I'm going to make sure those bastards know  _exactly_  why I'm killing them." Marco frowned, but he knew he wouldn't be able to dissuade her with simple words.

"Just don't try anything until after you've healed and become strong enough to take them out. Don't get cocky or impatient, either."

"You know me, Marco."


	22. Chapter 22

A lone figure stood at the bow of the old ship that had once belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates. Granted, they had never taken on another name after the death of their captain, but that was because they'd all agreed it wouldn't feel right to be known as anything else. The figure standing on top of the old, sun and sea worn whale head was that of a woman. Her black hair had been cut shorter than she'd ever worn it, to the point of almost resembling a man's hair. No longer did she choose to wear khaki knee-length pants and a black tank top with her sandals. Now, she wore simple black trousers with her boots, and a black halter-top shirt that bared much of her upper back. She had reason for this.

Stretched across her shoulder blades was a mass of discolored, warped skin that she had received from a severe burn. On her right shoulder, there was a tattoo of her late captain's mark in purple ink. Across the scar on her back, in black ink, was ASCE, written in the same styling as "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace had worn down his left arm. In the cartilage of her left ear were four gold earrings, designating four people dear to her whom she had lost over the years. She had grown a bit taller, as two years had passed since she'd endured the greatest moment of her suffering: the battle at Marineford. At twenty-three years old, Hotaru was restless to know what would be happening now that Strawhat Luffy, Ace's younger brother, had been reportedly spotted again. But she was bothered by the stories she'd heard.

"Hotaru! What're you doing up there?" Izou asked as he stepped up onto the whale head with her, his traditional kimono flapping behind him in the breeze.

"Thinking about Ace's little brother," she answered, glancing down at the newspaper in her hands. Izou nodded slowly, having heard the rumors of the young pirate captain.

"Something bothering you?"

"These reports don't sound anything like what Ace told me about. And they don't sound like the boy we met at Marineford, the boy who was willing to give his life for Ace. Oyaji immediately took a liking to him, but this guy sounds like a worm that Oyaji would send one of us to knock down a peg or two."

"People change in two years."

"But this just doesn't make sense. I mean, Old Man Silvers disappeared around the same time Luffy did. I don't like coincidences like that. I've just got this gut feeling. I just don't think this guy in the paper is Ace's younger brother. Doesn't sound right."

Izou shrugged his shoulders. "Take it up with Marco. Maybe he'll let you go investigate." Hotaru cocked and eyebrow and gave him a confused look.

"What business is ours if some weakling wants to impersonate Ace's little brother? I mean, yeah, I want to kick his ass, but it doesn't mean anything."

"Whatever you say. By the way, Emile's looking for you. Said something about making that special stew you invented as a kid."

Hotaru tossed the paper his way and walked by with a quick nod. Izou watched after her for a moment with a sad look in his eyes. It'd been so long since Hotaru had seemed truly happy with where she was in life. The blow dealt at Marineford had hit them all hard, but Hotaru was one of those most affected by the loss. With a sigh, Izou walked off and found himself heading for Marco's quarters.

As Hotaru added a bit of Dragon's Flush and sliced carrots to the stew she was making, she heard the door to the kitchen open and it seemed as though all movement stopped around her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Marco had entered. He clearly wanted to speak to her and Hotaru handed the ingredients she was working with to Emile before walking out into the galley with Marco.

The blond man hadn't changed much physically in the two years that had passed. He was still the tall, strong man she had always known him to be. But now there seemed to always be a tired look in his eyes. It was more than just lack of sleep giving him this appearance. He was spiritually exhausted, not that Hotaru could particularly blame him. She was as well. Maybe that was why they always got along so well, she figured. They had been kindred spirits, and had understood each other for years.

"What's up, Marco?" Hotaru asked.

"I heard you've got a bad feeling about what the news says about Strawhat," Marco answered and Hotaru immediately thought of her conversation with Izou. It wasn't as though she'd expected it to remain purely confidential—she would have only trusted Marco with that—but she hadn't thought he'd go to their stand-in captain immediately. Rather than feel angry or offended, Hotaru merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I just don't think it's really him. Not a big deal."

"Even so, I want to know if you'll go check it out. If it's not him, put him in his place."

"And if I'm wrong and Luffy really has turned into a little scum?"

"What you do in the field is not up to me. Do as you deem fit."

"Why are you asking me to do this? You can't merely be curious as to whether or not this is Ace's brother. What else is there?"

"You want revenge on Teach and the Marines for what they've done. If that bastard in the news isn't really Strawhat, then I think you'll be able to find the real one. That kid might be your only shot of getting strong enough to accomplish what you need."

"You want me to find Strawhat and, if he's the same good kid we know, travel with him so I can find and kill Blackbeard and some bastard Marines?"

"If you want to. I'm giving you the chance to take that route if you think it'll help. I think it will."

"There's no telling how long I'll be gone," Hotaru pointed out.

"I understand that. Part of me is counting on that because I'll know you're being smart and careful about it."

"I can't pass up something like this, Marco, especially when you're offering it to me."

Marco gave her a lazy smile, to which she could only respond by hugging him around his neck. The legendary phoenix reached behind him and pulled a black leather trench coat from the hook by the kitchen door. Hotaru had taken to wearing it in the past year and Marco knew she would need it where she was going.

"Be careful, Hotaru," Marco said carefully. "I want to see you again, alive and well."

"You know me, Marco. I'll be back, I promise. And when I return, Blackbeard and Akainu will be dead."

There was silence between the two of them for a long moment where time seemed to stand still. As Hotaru stared up at him, she finally understood just  _how much_  like a father he truly was to her. Marco cared for her as his own, raised her like he would have raised a child he could have sired, and gave her the liberties she'd earned as she grew older. Just as Anne was her mother, Marco was her father.

"You have that look. What do you want to say?"

"I just want to say that I love you, and thank you for being my father." Hotaru hugged him one last time before making preparations to leave the ship. She would set her course for the Sabaody Archipelago, where Strawhat Luffy was rumored to be. It was time for her to take the helm in her life and follow her own course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the story is over, I can finally admit that one of my favorite things that I did with this story when I originally posted it was in the summary. I liked making it seem like I was implying Ace and Hotaru were the kindred spirits mentioned in the summary/teaser, but it was actually referring to her and Marco, her father figure. And I just really had a lot of fun with that dynamic, even more so than the romantic dynamic.


End file.
